The Upper Thracian Plain (Bulgarian: Горнотракийска низина, Upper Thracian Lowlands) is a region in Bulgaria that occupies the southeastern part of the country. It's a fertile area dominated by the river Maritsa and its many tributaries, including the sizable Tundzha and Arda.

Together with the Rhodope Mountains, the Upper Thracian Plain constitutes Northern Thrace (Bulgarian: Северна Тракия), bordering Greece (Western Thrace) to the south and Turkey (Eastern Thrace) to the southeast.

Cities

The region contains five of Bulgaria's 27 province centres:

Houses in the Old Town of Plovdiv

The Southern Gate at Hisarya

• 1 Haskovo (Хасково) — a city on the border between the Upper Thracian Plain and the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, with some Thracian ruins and hot springs nearby.
• 2 Pazardzhik (Пазарджик) — a mid-sized city on the same Maritsa river as Plovdiv. The Rhodope Narrow-Gauge Railway starts from the nearby town of Septemvri.
• 3 Plovdiv (Пловдив) — the nation's second largest city which boasts a lovely shopping promenade and many parks, the ruins of ancient Philippopolis (including a preserved amphitheatre), and a picturesque Old Town with many houses dating back to the Bulgarian National Revival.
• 4 Stara Zagora (Стара Загора) — "the city of linden trees", in the plain below the Sarnena Gora mountain. A historic city with ancient ruins, modern Stara Zagora had to be almost completely rebuilt after being burned down during the Liberation War (1877).
• 5 Yambol (Ямбол) — another mid-sized province centre, on the banks of the Tundzha. Home to one of the few dedicated military history museums in Bulgaria.

Smaller cities and towns:

• 6 Asenovgrad (Асеновград) — "Asen's city" under the slopes of the Rhodope Mountains, named after a medieval ruler; nearby is the Bachkovo Monastery, the second most prominent Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria after the Rila Monastery.
• 7 Dimitrovgrad (Димитровград) — a Communist-era "planned city", built from scratch in the late 1940s and named after the first Communist leader of Bulgaria.
• 8 Elhovo (Елхово) — Elhovo is a town in Yambol Province, located on the left bank of Tundzha, between the Strandzha and Sakar mountains.
• 9 Hisarya (Hissar, Хисар) — a nice little town north of Plovdiv, known ever since Roman times because of its mineral springs. Home to some of the best preserved Roman ruins in Bulgaria - the impressive city wall still surrounds several neighbourhoods. You can easily visit the Balkan mountain range and Koprivshtitsa from this base.
• 10 Rakovski (Раковски) — a small town, the largest Roman Catholic enclave in Bulgaria (an otherwise mostly Eastern Orthodox country). It offers a unique cultural experience, with beautiful churches and religious festivals.
• 11 Svilengrad (Свиленград) — an important border town on the Maritsa, close to the point where the borders of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey meet; there are a couple of well-preserved fortress ruins in nearby villages.

Understand

The Upper Thracian Plain is approximately triangular in shape, with the northern side of the triangle formed by the Sredna Gora range that runs parallel to the Balkan Mountains; the western tip of the triangle is wedged between the Sredna Gora mountains to the north and the Rhodope Mountains to the south.

Go next

• Strandzha
• Rhodope Mountains