Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Tour From Sofia - Day trip

The ride to Rila Monastery, one way destination, takes about 2 hours and some additional time for lunch at the restaurant. The total duration of the excursion is about 8 hours. The tour ends with a return to Sofia at 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM to the same starting point. The visit to Boyana Church (according to internal regulations) lasts 8 minutes.

The excursion includes:

• Transportation by a comfortable bus/ minibus
• A map with your itinerary indicating the museums, casher desks, the relics of St. Ivan Rilski, the Miraculous Icon of the Holy Mother of God, the Royal tomb and other objects.
• An audio guide device available in 7 languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, German and Bulgarian.
• An audio storytelling in Boyana church.
• Museum audio talks at Church-historical museum, The Birth of the Virgin Mary main church museum, Medieval tower, Ethnographic museum, Magernitsa monastery kitchen - museum.

The price for the excursion does not include:

• Admission fee for Boyana Church - €5 / 10 BGN
• Admission fees for the Rila Monastery museums - €8 / 16 BGN /total fee admission for all the museums

Other information:

The monastery roads are mostly cobblestone, so we recommend wearing comfortable shoes.

When entering the monastery, knees and shoulders must be covered. There are few places to eat around the monastery, so from April to October, we recommend bringing food with you. From November to March, we organize a stop at a nearby restaurant, as the colder weather makes outdoor dining uncomfortable.

Bring cash (preferably Bulgarian leva) — shops, restaurants in the area, and museums in the monastery mainly accept cash.

The Boyana church is closed on the 1st of January, on the Sunday of the Orthodox Easter, on the 24th of December, the 25th of December - and on such days the tour is done only to the Rila Monastery.

Rila Monastery – one of the symbols of Bulgarian history, was founded by Ivan Rilski in the middle of 10th century. At present it is functioning monastery and open for visitors. It is a major orthodox cultural and historical monument with a great significance for all Bulgarian people.
On the monastery’s area, displayed in five museums, are kept about 35000 unique exhibits, among which can be seen ancient manuscripts, relics of saints and various church items.

All the visitors are fascinated by the monastery’s famous relics - the Raphael's Cross and the historical Miraculous Icon of the Holy Mother of God in the halo of 32 reliquaries with the remains of saints.
Boyana church is one of the few medieval monuments of the Christian art that has been well preserved up to the present days.
Built in 10th century, it became a worldwide prominent church name due to its unique murals.

Our audio guide will tell you about the monastery complex in Rila Monastery and about the Boyana church. The soft music accompanying the audio storytelling emphasizes the atmosphere of these sacred religious sites and places and creates a special mood. You will come close to the spiritual relics and learn about the history and foundation of these ancient religious sites, also about important events in their history, and why they are so precious for our people.

You will know about:

The creation of the monastery
Inner courtyard of the monastery
Church Nativity of the Virgin Mother
Iconostasis. Relics of st. John of Rila
Archbishop’s throne and pulpit
Miraculous icon of the Holy Virgin Osenovitsa
Royal Tomb (mound)
Tomb of Neophyte of Rila
Church and History museum