The marvellous town of Smolyan occupies the narrow gorge of the Cherna River in the East Rhodope Mountains. It has 34 000 residents and lies 12 km from the Pamporovo resort, 45 km from Devin, 102 km from Plovdiv and 260 km from the capital Sofia. It became a town in 1960 after unifying three villages- Smolyan, Raykovo and Ustovo. Once the Slavs` tribe of smolyani inhabited the area and gave the name of the settlement. Numerous houses and churches from XVII- XIX centuries have been preserved up to the present day. Some of them are: "Pangalov’s house" (1860), "Sgurov’s house" (1866), "Alibeev’s town- hall" (1751), "Kelev’s house" (1860), etc. The architectural and ethnographic reserve called Cheshitska mahala is located in the district of Raykovo. There are also a planetarium, an ethnographic museum and an art gallery.
Smolyan is a starting point for many mountain routes. The Smolyan lakes and the Smolyan waterfall are located not far from the town. Tourists can be accommodated in two big and a great number of small private family ones. The magnificent nature, mild climate, its closeness to the mountain and the Pamporovo resort attract the tourists all the year round.

Places of interest: Wanderful Bridges, Perperikon, Bachkovo Monastery, Landmark- The Elephant, Trigrad, Dyavolskoto garlo (Davil's Throat) Cave.



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