Lonely Planet includes Rila Monastery in its Ultimate Travelist 2015

The world leading travel guide Lonely Planet makes a first-of-its-kind Ultimate Travelist 2015 with the 500 places to see on the planet. We are proud to announce that one of them is UNESCO-listed Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. After years of researching the LP’s experts have ranked best mega-sights and hidden gems around the world and create the definitive bucket list for every type of traveler.

Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist

“We are so excited about Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist. This book has been years in the making and brings together the most compelling places in the world according to our team of globetrotting travel experts. Every traveller has got a list of places they simply have to see – places heard about, read about or dreamed about. Of course, what makes somewhere special is different for everyone and we’d love to hear about other people’s top spots. But this is our definitive list. And one we hope will inspire many other travel wishlists”, said Tom Hall, Editorial Director of Lonely Planet.

The Ultimate Travelist includes also other major sites on the Balkan Peninsula. “Saint Sofia” Church, Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, Ephesus, Cappadocia and Pamukkale in Turkey, The Metéora – largest and most important complexes of Greek Orthodox monasteries are recommended by Lonely Planet’s experts too.

UNESCO-listed Rila Monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila. Founded in the 10th century and is known as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe.

The complex has a rectangular form and occupies an area of 8,800 m², with an inner yard, where the tower and the main church are situated.