Today starts with downhill kilometres, not a warm-up climb. From Dolna Bania, the route leaves the Rila foothills and runs east through Kostenets and Belovo into the Maritsa valley. The road steadily loses height; Rila drops behind you, while the Upper Thracian Plain opens ahead, a fertile lowland shaped by the Maritsa. Pazardzhik brings the first real town stop. The Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa is worth a short pause for its large carved walnut iconostasis. After that, the ride stays flat towards Plovdiv: fields, villages, roadside industry, then Bulgaria’s old second city. With time left, the Old Town, Roman remains or Nebet Tepe are close enough to justify a stop. The finish bites back: after the plain, the road climbs into the first Rhodope hills to Hrabrino.
