20th anniversary festival of the periwinkle

In mid-May, the traditional Rhododendron Festival is held in Strandzha Mountain. The jubilee edition, dedicated to the relict species, this year will take place in the village of Gramatikovo, Malo Tarnovo municipality and will once again gather nature lovers, tourists, and friends of the mountain on May 11 and 12.

The Rhododendron Festival is organized by the Directorate of Strandzha Nature Park, which this year has again prepared various routes for all who wish to explore the picturesque nature of Strandzha Mountain. See the routes HERE

THE RHODODENDRON FESTIVAL – 2024 – 20th  EDITION

May 11-12, 2024 (Saturday and Sunday)

Gramatikovo village, Malo Tarnovo municipality

The Strandzha Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum) is an evergreen shrub reaching a height of up to 2-3 m. Its leaves are glossy green, large, oblong-lanceolate, and bare. The stem has smooth grey bark. The flowers are large, purplish-pink, clustered at the tips of the branches in umbellate inflorescences. The plant is spread along steep slopes and deep ravines as a second understory layer in forests of Oriental beech and Strandzha oak in Strandzha. Its distribution area is highly restricted and closely linked to specific soil and climatic conditions.

The Rhododendron is one of the relict Tertiary species that have survived to this day only in Strandzha and the Caucasus. Because of its beautiful large flowers, it has been adopted as the symbol of Strandzha Nature Park.

It blooms continuously from mid-April to mid-June, depending on spring temperatures.