Turning east, the forested road (about 60km from Batak) leads to Devin, a small town famous for its mineral water and therapeutic hot springs.

BBC: Bulgarian road trip: Sofia to the City of the Tsars

The city's many ethnic communities - Javanese, Batak, Chinese, Melayu, Indian, Arab - have managed to stay fairly separate, each with their own way of life.

CNN: MEDAN'S MADNESS

Head 35km down the B-road, passing Batak (the site of a famous 19th-century uprising against the Ottomans), and continue deeper into the Rhodope Mountains towards Dospot.

BBC: Bulgarian road trip: Sofia to the City of the Tsars