Within the scope of the second call for proposals of the Interreg-IPA Bulgaria-Turkey Cross-Border Cooperation Programme, in which the European Union Presidency acts as the national authority, the project titled ‘The Life Giving Force of Strandzha Mountain’ numbered CB005.2.23.014 was carried out in Kırklareli and Burgas on July 3, 2021 and August 5, 2021. Eco tours – open air seminars were held.
Tourist walks following health routes on both sides of the border in Strandja Mountain have become a kind of open-air seminar. Volunteers and healthy lifestyle enthusiasts from Bulgaria and Turkey participated in the eco-tours. The walks were carried out as part of the project “The life-giving power of Strandja Mountain” funded by the Interreg – IPA Bulgaria – Turkey 2014-2020 cross-border cooperation program. The project is carried out by the non-profit association “Horizonti” and the Edirne Cross-Border Cultures Research Association.
Tourist groups of 38 people, led by professional guides and interpreters, made a walk through forest areas and eco-paths to prove that Strandja Mountain is one of the most suitable places for healing and healing tours. The eco-walk in the Turkish part of the mountain was held on July 3, 2021, with the end point being the Dupnitsa cave, and the tour in Bulgaria was held on August 5, 2021, with the aim of visiting the Thracian temples Indipasha and Mishkova niva.
At the visitor center of the Strandja National Park, participants were informed about the project’s goals and the mountain’s natural resources that make it suitable for the development of medical tourism. The day after the walks, all participants participated in ecological actions to clean previously designated areas in Turkey and Bulgaria
The project “The life-giving power of the Strandja Mountain”, ref. № CB005.2.23.014, has a duration of 12 months and a value of EUR 50,449.86. Its main purpose is to draw attention to the potential of the Strandja Mountain for the development of healing and relaxing tourism.
