02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
You drive five hours south-east from Sofia, the road narrowing as it climbs into the Rhodope mountains, until you reach Polkovnik Serafimovo, a 200-person village at 1,500 metres. Meadows in the Mountains has run since 2011. Two stages, 3,000 attendees, programming that runs Balkan folk into house and disco. The Sunrise Stage faces east and the morning sets are programmed for the moment the light comes up over the valley. The village hosts you. The grandmothers serve banitsa from their kitchens. The festival pays the village. Bulgaria's quiet answer to the boutique-mountain-festival template, before everyone started copying it.
The Sunrise Stage at 5am on day two is the festival's quiet peak. Bring layers and a head torch. The shuttle from Plovdiv is the easier route in.
The most-loved boutique mountain festival in Europe, in one of the most beautiful and least-visited mountain ranges on the continent.
Annual, late May or early June, three days. Day two and three are the deeper musical weight; day one is the warm-up. The Sunrise Stage from 04:30 each morning is the festival's quiet peak.
Three days annually, late spring. Main stages run from afternoon through to dawn. The village hosts the festival; local food and drink available throughout.
Fly to Sofia (SOF) or Plovdiv (PDV). Festival shuttles from Plovdiv run twice daily during the festival, 2 hours into the Rhodope mountains. From Sofia, hire car or shuttle (4-5 hours). The village (Polkovnik Serafimovo) is 1,500m up on a single road.