Rose Picking in Karavelovo

Springtime ushers in the rose petal harvest in central Bulgaria, and a chance to join Worker Bee tours for rose picking in Karavelovo, a traditional village south of the Balkan Mountains. Our volunteers help small scale growers get their harvest in while the rose blossoms are fresh. The season only lasts a few weeks, and a whole year’s wages depend on getting the job done before the roses fade in the summer heat .

Working hours are early morning, while morning dew still clings to the rose petals. Spend the rest of each day discovering the Bulgarian countryside, exploring cultural and historical sites, and enjoying the annual Rose Festival celebration for which the region is famous.

Itinerary

This itinerary is representative of a typical one week rose picking adventure. Specific times and activities vary a little bit year to year depending on the exact harvest schedule.

Day 1 – Arrive in Sofia

The most pleasant weather occurs in May-June and September-October. The warmest time of the year starts in mid-July and generally lasts until mid-August, when the annual meltémi winds from the north cool the country. Mid-July to mid-August is the height of summer, and the midday sun tends to get very strong; during this time, most Greeks avoid heavy physical activity outdoors between 1:00 and 5:00 PM.

Day 2 – Sofia Tour and Transfer to Rose Valley

Summer evenings tend to be very rewarding. As strong as the sun may get on a summer afternoon, the low levels of atmospheric humidity in most areas of the country prevent the air from trapping much heat, and temperatures tend to dip to very pleasant levels in the evenings. But even during midday, high temperatures actually tend to be quite comfortable as long as the time is not spent doing a lot of walking or other physical activity.

Day 3 – Rose Valley

While the Mediterranean climate characterizes most of the country, there are two other climate systems that are present. One is the cool Alpine climate which is found on mountainous areas of the country’s interior, including many high-altitude valleys. Another system is the Continental climate found on the interiors of north-central and northeastern Greece, and gives those areas very cold winters and warm, relatively humid summers.

Day 4 – Rose Valley

Athens’ Elefthérios Venizélos International Airport located near the Athens suburb of Spáta is the country’s largest, busiest airport and main hub, handling over 15 million passengers annually as of 2006. Other major international airports in terms of passenger traffic are, in order of passengers served per year, Heraklion (Nikos Kazantzákis Int’l), Thessaloniki (Makedonia Int’l), Rhodes (Diagóras), and Corfu (Ioánnis Kapodístrias).

Image Gallery

Video

Important Information