Sinemorets – a paradise for relaxing at sea and adventures.

Sinemorets resort has excellent conditions for recreation at sea combined with opportunities for tourist walks around beautiful nature. To this contributes its location on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and the mouth of the Veleka River. The beaches of Sinemorets are among the most beautiful along the Black Sea Coast. Two of them are entirely wild and suitable for those seeking tranquillity and privacy in nature. The 8 km stretch from the mouth of the Veleka River to “Tsarsko kladenche” is acceptable for sailing, which provides opportunities for a motorboat and kayak trip, to observe the rare yellow water lily.
The location of  Sinemorets is on the territory of Strandzha Nature Park (the most significant nature park in Bulgaria). Next to the village, there are declared two protected areas with unique natural resources.

The best things to do in Sinemorets – map, beaches and landmarks



USEFUL: For planning your visit to the place or accommodation in the nearby settlements, can use the collection of assistive tools – Google Road Map with calculator in km, flights to Bulgaria, rental cars, weather forecast, hotel search, timetables of buses in the region, see this link.

Sinemorets is 4 km south of Ahtopol and 83 km south of Bourgas. It is only 12 km away from the Rezovo village, where is the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Although Sinemorets is a village, there is a wide choice of accommodation – hotels, guest houses, family hotels, apartments for rent, lodgings and bungalows. Accommodation is over 5,000 places. There are also numerous dining venues – restaurants, fast food restaurants, bistros, pizzerias and other.

The beaches of Sinemorets

1.North beach at the mouth of the Veleka River

It is the largest beach in Sinemorets 700 m long, and its width reaches 90 m. The location is in the northern part of the village. The charm of the beach is in the unique combination of the Veleka River and its green banks, the sandy strip and the elongated rocks in the sea. At the start of the beach, there are umbrellas, sun loungers, a beach bar and a lifeguard.


The North beach of Sinemorets, which separates the Veleka river (from the left) and the sea (from the right).

In the southern part of the beach, next to the beach bar is located a famous rock formation “The Sphinx”, which is an attractive place for pictures. To see it from a suitable angle, you have to stand perpendicular to the beach and look to the rocks. Some people believe that human hands carved “The Sphinx “. Therefore, the rock formation is a testimony of links between the ancient Thracian and Egyptian cultures. They think that the object is related to the mystical cave – the tomb of the Egyptian goddess Bastet near the town of Malko Tarnovo.


Another view of the North beach. From the left  are the rocks forming “The Sphinx,” also called “The leaning Indian.”
“The Sphinx” in a view from the beach

The Veleka River Mouth

Besides, where the Veleka River flows into the Black Sea, is the most beautiful place for swimming with a mask and snorkel. In a calm sea, the visibility in the waters reaches 10 m, which we have not seen anywhere else at the beaches of the Black Sea and is comparable to diving in the Mediterranean Sea!

The mouth of Veleka River photographed by the northern side, SInemorets
The mouth of Veleka River photographed by the northern side. This view is one of the most beautiful along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. To reach the place where this view reveals, follow the route attached here, but in the opposite direction, beginning from Sinemorets.

Butamyata Beach

The beach is in the southern part of Sinemorets. Its length is 400 m, and the width is 110 m. There are a lifeguard, umbrellas and sunbeds, as well as two beach restaurants. As entertainment, there are water attractions – jets, bananas and others. More crowded and noisy is than North Beach. There is a small river called Butamyata, where the name of the beach originates.

Initially, the river was called a “potamo”, which in Greek means river. It gradually changed to the Bulgarian “Potamia”, and later became “Butamayata”.

 

When we were diving with a mask and snorkel on this beach, we also noticed quite clear waters (better than the rest of the Black Sea Coast).

The thick forests around the beach is a part of the protected area “Silistar”, which extends in south direction to a beach with the same name – “Silistar”

The south beach of Sinemorets – Butamyata

When we were diving with a mask and snorkel on this beach, we also noticed quite clear waters (better than the rest of the Black Sea Coast).

The thick forests around the beach is a part of the protected area “Silistar”, which extends in south direction to a beach with the same name – “Silistar”

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Wild beaches “Lipite” and “Listi”

From the “Butamyata” beach if you go in the south direction along a hiking trail, you will reach two wild beaches: “Lipite” and “Listi”. On the way to them, you can see fascinating rock formations and also a seal’s cave. The time for reaching “Lipite” beach is around 20 minutes, and for “Listi” Beach – approximately 1 hour.

The wild beach “Lipite”
The wild beach "Listi"
The wild beach “Listi”, which is almost deserted and is suitable for nudists and everybody seeking tranquillity

Fishing port and rock formations “The Ships”

Their location is in the small bay “St. Yani “. In the past, it is also called “Chekeka”. This name comes from Turkish, and it means “pulled”, similarly the fishing boats that are “pulled” on the shore on the wooden grills.

The fishing port of Sinemorets. In the upper left corner of the photo, you can see the famous rock formations”The Ships”
A boat hidden in the rocks
A view from the port of the azure blue sea horizon and the passing small sailing boat.

In the southern part of the bay, there are two raised above rocks, famous under the name “The Ships”. This name is because of their shape. Professional and amateur photographers often visit them.

“The Ships” seen from the fishing port of Sinemorets
"The Ships" seen in the afternoon
“The Ships” seen in the afternoon
A broader view of "The Ships" area - Sinemorets, Bulgaria
A broader view of “The Ships” area
From another angle
The fishing port in 2020

The Veleka River

Another exciting thing that you can do in Sinemorets is a boat trip along the Veleka River. This activity can be called a truly “green” adventure along the richly vegetated, wild banks of the river. Many yellow water lilies and turtles can be seen during the trip. The start is near the mouth of the Veleka River. More information – from this link.

 Yellow water lilies ( Nuphar lutea )
Yellow water lilies ( Nuphar lutea ) near the banks of the Veleka River

Historical notes about Sinemorets


Antiquity

The ceramic fragments discovered in underwater exploration at the Butamita Bay give grounds for believing that there was a settlement here in the 5th – 4th centuries BC. Among the finds, there are anchors as well as portions of the lead coating of an ancient ship.

In the northwest of Sinemorets, above the North beach, there is a meadow. Archaeologists made excavations there in 2006. They found Thracian tombstone and the Ruler’s house.

The Thracian mound and the golden treasure

The pile, probably, is from the 3rd century BC. It is supposed that there was buried a wealthy Thracian aristocrat – probably a priestess. Archaeologists found great gold treasure – more than 160 gold objects and jewels. On some finds, there are traces of cauterisation at the edges. This gives reason to specialists in believing that the ancient people cremated the priestess. Because of its magnificent craftsmanship, specialists define the gold treasure as one of the models of antique jewellery on Bulgarian lands. It is exhibited in the National Museum of Sofia, Bulgaria. You can see a picture from here.
There is a copy of the treasure stored in the museum in the town of Tsarevo. If you want to diversify your holiday, you can go to Tsarevo, 20 km away. In that museum, you can see also other finds from the surrounding area.

The Ruler’s house and the silver treasure

A fragment of Greek amphorae and coins of the Thracian king Kotis I (383-360 BC), were found around the Ruler’s house. In 2012, a vast silver treasure consisting of 199 coins with a nominal of 4 drams – also called tetradrachms – was discovered here. The coins origin from Messambria (Nessebar), Odessos (Varna), Aegean Polis Kizik (in Turkey), the Byzantine kingdom and the kingdom of Thracian Ruler Mostis. These coins indicate active trading with these towns and shipping in the Black Sea.

Middle Ages

Based on the discovered ceramic vessels of late antiquity and Middle Ages, the settlement continued its existence in the following centuries. The name of the village was the Greek “Gallazio” ( Γαλαζιο ), which translates to sky blue.

The oldest historical source for the village is from 1498 – a document for trading with salt. In this document, Sinemorets is present with the name Kalandza . Translating from Turkish means Flower Sempervivum, that naturally grows here. We saw them, carefully put in a pot by somebody, perhaps a reference to the old name. That was along the path to the wild beach”Lipite”. During that period 19 families lived in the village.

Flower Sempervivum

Later, in the seventeenth century, Kalandza was present in the tax register of Anhialo County (Pomorie). This district also included the surrounding Agatopol (Ahtopol) to which Kalandza was subordinate. In the eighteenth century, according to the notes of an Austrian officer, the village numbered 17 houses. Probably, the settlement has not expanded significantly for such a long period because of the frequent migration of its inhabitants to the Strandzha Mountain. The reason for this was the constant attacks of the Caucasian pirates. In the XVI-XVII century, they were robbing the people on the land.

The main activity for Kalandza in that period was the harvesting of timber and charcoal that ships transported to Istanbul.

After XX century

Until before the Balkan War (1912 – 1913), the settlement had been inhabited mainly by Greeks. In support of this thesis, in the recent past, there have been many so-called Greek houses. Characteristic of these buildings was that they are two-storeyed, spacious and without windows on the second floor. Similarly, with the same characteristic were the houses in the neighbouring villages Kosti and Brodilovo. They, probably, were also inhabited by Greeks. Unfortunately, during our visits to them, because of the great age, we found only one home, that answers the description. It was in deplorable condition. We saw it in the village of Kosti.

Because of tension in the political relations between Bulgaria and Greece in the early XX century, the Greeks emigrated in 1914, and Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace settled here. Similarly, the local Greeks also left in other Black Sea cities – Pomorie, Nessebar, Varna, and others.

Since then the activities of the village have been harvesting of timber, charcoal and agriculture.

By 1934, it still had called Kalandja, and then for a short time was renamed as Debelets. Since 1934 until now the name has been Sinemorets. In translation, this is mean “Sea Blue” – originates from the beautiful panoramic views from the high shores.

A new story

During socialism in Bulgaria (1944-1989), the access to the village was limited and tourism impossible. The reason for that was the enhanced military presence for the border, which is very close.

After the political changes in the early 1990s and the opening of the border areas, the interest in Sinemorets is growing more and more. The place is excellent for all who like natural beauties and want to escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life and big resorts.

Continue of the walk

An excellent way to diversify your stay in Sinemorets is to:

  1. Take a boat trip along the Veleka river and observe the beautiful and rare yellow water lily.
  2. See the best view of the Veleka River Mouth. Further, you can go for a walk to Ahtopol along the coastal hiking trail past volcanic formations. For this purpose, follow the described route, but in the opposite direction, beginning from Sinemorets (the North Beach or the steel bridge)
  3. Take a walk along the coastal hiking trail leading to the wild beaches Lipite and Listi.
  4. Visit one of the most beautiful beaches on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast – the Silistar Beach ( 6 km in the south) that has lovely natural features.
  5. Visit the resorts Ahtopol (6 km), Varvara (11 km) or Tsarevo (20 km) for more beautiful beaches, landmarks and picturesque seascapes.

USEFUL: To get a quick and easy idea of ​​where these places are – see the destinations marked on our Google map. There all the landmarks we’ve written about, are marked as tags with links.

To plan your trip to them, you can use the selection of assistive tools: Google Road Map with calculator in km, flights to Bulgaria, rental cars, weather forecast, hotel search, timetables of buses in the region.

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