Sinemorets: Hiking trail to the wild beaches Lipite, Listi and Silistar Beach

“Lipite” and “Listi” wild beaches lay between the resort villages of Sinemorets and Rezovo, and they are entirely uncivilized and almost deserted. There is no road to reach them by car, and the only way to visit is the eco-path described here, whose going is a real adventure. On the trail, one runs along a stunning coastline past meadows and unusual rock formations. Indeed, those cliffs are the result of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Surrounded by wild forest, quiet and rarely visited, these wild beaches are attractive to seekers of tranquillity and privacy. At the end of the trail, you will find yourself at another exotic, trendy but not so peaceful place – the Silistar Beach.

How to get to the wild beaches “Lipite” and “Listi”, and Silistar Beach – map, route and GPX file  
Download file: Sinemorets-Listi-Beach-EN.gpx GPX file


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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.


The total length of the whole course from Sinemorets to Silistar Beach is 7 km, and it takes 2 hours. Тhere are ascents and descents along the entire way because the relief is rugged. At its highest point (shortly before Silistar Beach) the altitude reaches 38 m.

First, to reach Lipite Beach, it takes 20 minutes, and the trail to it is convenient. After that, the course gets not easy at all, and it is suitable for well-prepared tourist – lovers of adventures. Listi Beach is in the middle of the route and takes 1 hour to come. Overall, Important to realise is that the path is not appropriate for young children and people with walking difficulties. On some places, gradually, the trail narrows to almost 20 cm wide, and it is along the edge of cliffs bordering the sea.

In case you visit this the wild beaches in the summer or the spring, there is a danger of ticks, so take the necessary precautions. Also, it is a good idea when you are making this hike to equip yourself with hiking shoes or sneakers, long trousers, insect spray and water. Since almost the entire path is through lawns and there are no trees where can hide for shade, the appropriate time of passage is in the morning or late afternoon when the sun shines less.

Route description

The start is from the southern end of Butamyata Beach in Sinemorets and beginning with an ascent along a path in the rocks:

Launch of the trail at the south end of Butamyata Beach, Sinemorets
Launch of the trail at the south end of Butamyata Beach, Sinemorets

The wild Lipite Beach

In 20 minutes you will reach the first wild beach – Lipite, which is no less delightful than the Listi and Silistar. The path to it is easy and convenient for all groups of people. Vacationers visit it in the summer, but their numbers are small, and there are no too many people on the beach. Commonly, there is no lifeguard, but on one of our visits, in the summer, there was one as a freelancer.

The wild beach Lipite in the spring
Lipite Beach in the spring
Lipite Beach in the summer when vacationers come. The beach is also suitable for nudists.
Lipite Beach in the summer when vacationers come

Shortly after passing it, you will see some famous rock formations that even have names. Those are the Sisyphus Rock, the Seal Cave, and the Divided Rock:

The "Sisyphus Rock", close to the wild beach "Lipite"
The small rocky outgrowth that looks like a rolling stone is the “Sisyphus Rock”

The Seal Cave

The Seal Cave along the hiking trail between "Lipite" and "Listi" wild beaches
The Seal Cave

This cave, according to the locals, was inhabited by seals in the past. In that time, fishers hated seals because they tore fishing nets. According to a local legend in the 1950s, an angry fisherman went into the cave to seek revenge and barely escaped – the seals were about to tear him apart.

A small beach between Lipite and Listi beach. In the right corner, you can see a high rock divided by two. They call it "The Split Rock"
A small beach between Lipite and Listi beach. In the right corner, you can see a high rock divided by two. They call it “The Split Rock”
A view in the north
"The Split Rock" closely
“The Split Rock” closely

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The wild Listi Beach

Shortly after the “Split Rock”, you will reach Listi Beach. Indeed, the name of the beach itself comes from the word “ληστής” – ( listis ), which in Greek means robber. The bay is supposed served as a pirate hiding place in during the Renaissance for so-called “Lazi” pirates (Caucasian pirates) The beach is 500 m long, and the sand strip is interrupted in many places by high cliffs that reach the sea. To come to the southern end of the beach, follow a forest path behind the sand strip because you can not climb on the cliffs.

Even in the summer, only a few people come to the beach. For this reason, nudists seeking tranquillity come here. There is no lifeguard, no beach restaurants or shops, so if you plan to go to the beach, you should take care of the necessary provisions.

The wild beach "Listi", between SInemorets and Silistar Beach
View of Listi Beach from north to south
Listi beach - the northern end
Listi Beach – the northern end

After passing the Listi Beach can see more unusual rock formations of great age. They are as a result of the volcanic activity of the extinct volcano “Goliama Papia”, near the present Brodilovo village, 80 million years ago. Henceforth, there are goat paths, which are along the edge of coastal cliffs. Also, in some places, gradually, they narrow a lot, and one has to keep the right balance in order not to fall into the sea.

Rock formations along the eco-path

Silistar Beach

The last 1 km is through a forest, on a dirt road, vast enough and comfortable, but with a steep climb up to 38 m above sea level. Finally, we reached the third beach on the route – Silistar. Here is the mouth of the eponymous river Silistar, which gives additional charm to the place. At the time of our visit during the spring season, the beach was quiet and almost deserted, and Silistar River with low level. Without any effort, we crossed the dry river mouth without the need to wade in the water. So we went to the south end of the beach.

A look at Silistar Beach from far away
A look at Silistar Beach from far away
The Silistar Beach before the tourist season
The Silistar River Mouth
The Silistar River Mouth

Silistar Beach features

Compared to both two wild beaches Lipite and Listi, Silistar has a much more wide sand strip. Unlike them, it is not so calm during the summer season. Silistar Beach has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, and in the summer is a real fortune to find where to put your towel – it’s so crowded. Unlike the beaches of Listi and Lipite, it is not wild and offers all the “extras” typical of the resort beaches. There are restaurant, umbrellas, sunbeds, diving with an instructor and even horseback riding. The bay has the same name – Silistar, and it is supposed it was a hidden pirate place, like Listi Beach. Probably the name has come from the closest phonetic combination of Greek – στη ληστερό (Stilistero), which in translation means “the Robber’s.”

More photos of the beach can see in this post.

From here you can take the main asphalt road Rezovo – Sinemorets and use it as a more convenient way to return or to hitchhike.

Preservation of Protected Area Silistar

The entire area from Sinemorets to Silistar Beach where is the described route is protected and determined as one of the most important wetlands for the conservation of waterfowl – Protected Area Silistar.

It is into the territory of Strandzha Nature Park, the European ecological network Natura 2000, and besides, the field has forest status.

For this reason, it is forbidden the moving by motor vehicles on dirt roads through the forest behind the coast, and that is why the wild beaches have remained intact so far. Besides, some rules should be followed when visiting to protect natural resources.

To put it briefly – do not throw away waste, do not tear plants, do not light a fire, no camping, and let the place look like you’ve found it!

For more details, or if you intend to carry out particular activities other than a tourist walk, the full text of the laws can read here.

1. Protected area “Silistar” – current prohibitions and regimes ( the page of Bulgarian “Executive Environment Agency”)

2. Strandzha Nature Park – current prohibitions and regimes ( the page of Bulgarian “Executive Environment Agency”)

3. Bulgarian Forestry Act

Small gallery with the plants we saw in our spring walk

[supsystic-gallery id=’7′]

Continue of the walk

Another, similar to this route, again along a rocky shore is the one from Sinemorets to Ahtopol. At the start, you can see the best view of the Veleka River Mouth and further you will be able to observe other ancient volcanic formations – again the “products” of the extinct volcano “Goliama Papia”. For this purpose, follow the described route, but in the opposite direction, beginning from Sinemorets (the North Beach or the steel bridge)

Another beautiful and peaceful beach in case you choose Sinemorets for a more extended holiday is the beach at Veleka River Mouth.

A third excellent opportunity to diversify your holiday in the area is to take a boat trip on the Veleka River, where you will be able to see the rare yellow water lily.

Another beautiful and peaceful place nearby is the fabulous Kastrich Bay (8 km south of Sinemorets), which could also be called a wild beach.

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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