Beautiful Bulgaria
Forests, mountains birds and wildlife
April 12-20 2026
Tour at a glance:
Tour leader – Jonathan Meyrav
Local leader – Dimiter Georgiev (Neophron tours)
8 nights
9 days of birding
6 people (with 2 guides)
Difficulty – Easy to moderate (some short hikes)
Photography options – Good
Bulgaria is one of Europe’s hidden gems. A beautiful country with magnificent mountains, beautiful forests and friendly people it is an amazing destination for birding, scenery and wildlife.
This tour includes searching for all 9 of Europe’s resident woodpeckers, everal species of Owls and Grouse and a supporting cast of fantastic birds of the forests and mountains. Besides birds we have a good chance to see some European mammals on the trip such as Red Fox, Pine Marten, Least Weasel, Balkan Chamois, Roe Deer, plus small chances for European Wildcat,
Badger, Stone Marten and European Otter.
Our tour begins in Sofia from where we head to the beautiful Rila mountains, the western Rhodope forests and the Balkan Mountains national park before returning to the Sofia region for some more birding before concluding the tour. This tour is planned for a small group (6 pax) in a comfortable minibus, with the help of 4×4 vehicles in some rougher areas.
Click for our Full Program
Day 1 – April 12 – Arrival in Sofia and transfer to the Rila mountains. If time permits we will do some birding and search for Eurasian Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm’s Owls at dusk.
Day 2 – April 13 – A full day of exploring the beautiful Conifer forests of the Rila mountains. We will enjoy great birding and search for Eurasian Pygmy Owl and Hazel Grouse, as well as for the Black Woodpecker and the Grey-headed Woodpecker. Other mountain species that we may expect to see here include the Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Nutcracker, Ring Ouzel (ssp. alpestris), Crested Tit, Willow Tit, Common Firecrest, Common Crossbill, Eurasian Siskin and more.
Day 3 – April 14 – Today we move to the Western Rhodope mountains. This special area is characterized by small villages, beautiful mountains, streams and pristine nature. We will have time for some birding along the way and will search for Three-toed Woodpecker and some other hard to find forest species. This area is well known for Brown Bears and we will have a chance to search for them, and an option to visit a special hide for Bear watching.
Day 4 – April 15 – A full day of birding in the coniferous and deciduous forests of the Western Rhodopes. We will explore some forest trails with good chances to see Hazel Grouse, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Black Woodpecker. Other interesting birds we may expect to see here include White-throated Dipper and Rock Bunting, Sombre Tit, Marsh Tit, Bullfinch and more.
Day 5-6 – April 16 – 17 – The next days are devoted to the Central Balkan Mountains. The Balkan Mountain Range, crossing the whole territory of Bulgaria from west to east, is characterized mainly with extensive beech forests, mountain meadows and enormous rock formations. This area is one of the most beautiful and wildlife-rich parts of Bulgaria.
During our time here we will visit many habitats including the higher range, the lowland deciduous forests and local orchards in search of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker and European Green Woodpecker. While passing through picturesque villages in the valleys we will have most likely encounter Syrian Woodpecker and Little Owl as well.
We will spend time in the Central Balkan National Park where our main target species is the White-backed Woodpecker (ssp. lilfordi). We can also expect to see here the Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. In the evening we will visit some of the beech forests in the area, where we will have good chances to find the Tawny Owl.
Day 7 – April 18 – Today we will travel to the Western Balkan Mountains. We will enjoy some calm forest birding and search for species we may have missed so far. Besides a nice variety of songbirds and more chances for Grouse, we will search for Eurasian Eagle Owl
Days 8-9 – April 19-20 – The final two days of the trip will be spent around Sofia. We will head to the higher reaches of the mountains where we will hope to find some nice species such as Golden Eagle and Rock Partridge. We will have time to search the lower elevation forests for some of the rarer species such as White-backed Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Alpine Chough, Long-legged Buzzard, Sombre Tit, Rock Bunting and Cirl Bunting.
If we have time before departure, we may visit some other birding sites in the vicinity of Sofia before heading to the airport for our journey home.
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Tour price:
6 pax (sharing) – € 2570
Single supplement: € 330
Price includes:
Airport transfers
8 nights accommodation on HB basis
All meals from dinner on day one
All transportation and entrance fees
Guiding fees
Price excludes:
International Flights to Tbilisi
Alcoholic beverages
Travel insurance
Medical expenses and prescription drugs
Tips for driver and guides.