Dunav Ultra map

Follow the route from Kudelin to Durankulak

Cities

Detailed route information

740 km adventure in “space” and “time” on a bike

1. General information

The Dunav Ultra cycle route was created as a personal challenge for three amateur cyclists. In 2014 they set themselves the goal of cycling the distance near the northern border of Bulgaria in under 48 hours. For three consecutive years, the initiator of the venture Boris Begamov created, organized, and personally participated in extreme events along the route with the cause of promoting the region along the Danube River and Dobrudja in Bulgaria. After 2016 Begamov devoted himself to the activity of promoting the Dunav Ultra as the most popular cycling route in the Balkans.

In 2017 Dunav Ultra won the Grand Prize “Innovation of the Year in Tourism” of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Dunav Ultra route fully overlaps the transcontinental Eurovelo 6 route in Bulgaria.

Since 2021 the Dunav Ultra Mobile App was developed as one of the most useful digital travel guides for cycling along the Danube & Dobruja region in Bulgaria.

2. Classic or Adventure

The route can be done in two ways (two different tracks) – Adventure and Classic. The Classic route is best suited for a standard road bike – here we sometimes move away from the Danube, but the route is on a fully laid artificial surface. The adventure version involves crossing some minor roads and dirt roads and/or those without a laid artificial surface. The adventure crossing requires a more specific attitude, skills, time, and equipment – this type of experience presents an even deeper immersion in the Danube region of Bulgaria.

3. Sections

For more convenient planning, we have divided the route into a total of 14 Stages. Eight of the stages offer an Adventure option. Each Stage ends in a location with the basic logistics and tourist environment required for such an experience. The longest Stage is the 102 km Silistra – Dobrich section and the shortest is the Adventure version of the 28 km Nikopol – Belene Stage. Detailed information about all Stages can be found in the Dunav Ultra Mobile App.

4. Nature

The route crosses a large geographical area: tributaries of the Danube, protected areas, nature parks and reserves, lakes, wetlands, and/or agricultural areas. Encountering the Danube and Dobrudja region in the right season is an exotic and unforgettable experience for any nature lover and explorer. The flora and fauna offer a specific and rich diversity, and among the most interesting places are Nature Park “Persina”, Biosphere Park “Srebarna”, the protected area “Kalimok-Brashlen”, the mouths of the rivers Timok, Iskar, Osam, Yantra and Cherni Lom, the swamp near the village of Malak Preslavets, the Dry River Canyon in Dobruja, Durankulak Lake, and the Black Sea.

5. Culinary

The region offers a specific cuisine based on the specific bounties of the land and rivers. Fishing is an everyday occurrence here and fish soup is a brand. The fish is most often fried and is generally catfish, carp, grass carp, turbot, whitefish, or chub. The influence of the Vlach cuisine along the Danube is strong – various types of sarmale (сърми), mamaliga (качамак), jumer (джумерки), Vlach salamura (a spicy dish between stew and soup) are present in the traditional menus. In summer, fruitful fruit trees, vineyards, and vegetables grow here like apricots, peaches, plums, melons, watermelons, etc. In Silistra and Dobrich, you can try homemade watermelon or beetroot jam (маджун), and on the Black Sea coast, fresh fried fish like horse mackerel and caragiose.
Apricot brandy (ракия) is regarded as an elixir and wine is an integral part of the local way of life.

6. 100 Dunav Ultra Highlights

In 2018 we announced for the first time a list of the “100 Dunav Ultra Highlights”. A special selection brings together sites and themes characteristic of the region that we can explore with all available senses: cultural and historical sites, fortresses, archaeological sites, temples, museums, natural phenomena, animals, birds, local customs, and food – all representing the identity of the Dunav Ultra route. The list is updated annually, and detailed information about each site is included in the Dunav Ultra Mobile App.

7. Certificate

In 2018, for the first time, we introduced the issuance of a Certificate for each Dunav Ultra route traveler. Anyone who verifies in our Dunav Ultra mobile app their passage through 26 previously announced Checkpoints along the route, can obtain a Certificate. These are selected landmarks or unpopular to the general public “hidden” and tourist locations. Access to the Checkpoints functionality is obtained with a unique code – included in the Dunav Ultra Adventure Kit. Another way to obtain a Certificate is to participate in the mass cycling of the route, which is held annually at the end of each summer.
Acquiring a Dunav Ultra Certificate is a way of supporting our cause in the effective development of the region.

The world of Dunav Ultra

Jump Into the Adventure. Enjoy the photos.

List of all settlements through which the route of Dunav Ultra passes

Kudelin, Vrav, Novo selo, Florentin, Yassen, Negovanovtsi, Kapitanovtsi, Gomotartsi, Koshava, Slanotrun, Kutovo, Antimovo, Pokraina, Vidin, Dunavtsi, Simeonovo, Botevo, Archar, Dobri Dol, Slivata, Orsoya, Lom, Kovachitsa, Zlatia, Gorni Tsibar, Kozloduy, Harlets, Glozhane, Mizia, Oryahovo, Leskovets, Ostrov, Gorni Vadin, Dolni Vadin, Krushovene, Baikal, Gigen, Zagrajden, Dabovan, Brest, Gulyantsi, Milkovitsa, Dolni Vit, Somovit, Cherkovitsa, Nikopol, Dragash Voivoda, Vabel, Lyubenovo, Lozitsa, Byala Voda, Dekov, Belene, Belene NPP site, Oresh, Svishtov, Vardim, Novgrad, Tsenovo, Krivina, Batin, Gorno Ablanovo, Obretenik, Dve Mogili, Ivanovo, Basarbovo, Ruse, Marten, Sandrovo, Slivo Pole, Ryakhovo, Babovo, Braslen, Nova Cherna, Tutrakan, Pozharevo, Dunavets, Dolno Ryakhovo, Malak Preslavets, Raven, Popina, Vetren, Turnovtsi, Bogdantsi, Zafirovo, Kolarovo, Srebarna, Aydemir, Silistra, Kalipetrovo, Kainarja, Bogorovo, Voinovo, Strelkovo, Sredishte, Kolartsi, Onogur, Telerig, Efreitor Bakalovo, Krushari, Ovcharovo, Paskalevo, Hitovo, Karapelit, Dobrich, Stefan Karadja, Gen. Kardam, Lyulyakovo, Preselentsi, Goritsa, Velikoovo, Sirakovo, Sarnino, Chernookovo, Spasovo, Bezhanovo, Zahari Stoyanovo, Staevtsi, Durankulak.