12 Beautiful And Unique Handmade Gifts You Can Only Buy In Bulgaria

If you are not a fridge magnet lover and you always search for truly unique souvenirs to take home from your trips, the next few ideas are for you. These are beautiful handmade gifts from Bulgaria that will show your loved ones that they are really special to you.

A Kuker mask

The winter and early spring tradition of Kukeri in Bulgaria includes many noisy, furry monsters dancing and just being as loud as possible to chase the evil spirits away. Usually, every person dressed up as a Kuker has a wooden mask. If you have any kind of evil in your life that needs to be scared away, a Kuker mask is the perfect gift.

Duduk

Handmade rose soap

Bulgaria is among the leading rose oil producers in the world and its rose products are used in some of the finest French perfumes and cosmetics. You can buy virtually anything with extract from the local variety Rosa Damascena, from handmade soap to refreshing facial tonics and jam,

Martenitsa

Martenitsa is the red-and-white thread that Bulgarians tie around each other’s wrists on March 1. Martenitsa is believed to keep you healthy and wealthy so bring at least one home.

Fruit jam produced by a monk

If you visit a Bulgarian monastery, look around for the monks’ produce. The monks in many monasteries pick herbs, have cow herds or sheep flocks, or produce fruit jam or wine.

Traditional Bulgarian shirt

The traditional shirt worn by Bulgarians is usually white with specific patterns embroidered in bright colors on it. In the past, every shape meant something special for the owner of the shirt.

Magnet with handmade embroidery

All right, maybe just one magnet! If you are not much into wearing traditional clothes but you like the bright colorful patterns of the shirts you could look for embroidered magnets.

Herbal tea

Bulgarians drink a lot of herbal tea, especially in winter. You can get industrially produced tea in any supermarket but for a special touch go to a bio food shop and see what they have to offer. We recommend you to find mursalski chai tea famous for its overall positive effect on the human body. It can only be found in the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria.

Sugar rooster from Etar open air museum

Etar is an open air museum close to the town of Gabrovo that shows what life in Bulgarian villages used to be 150 years ago. Aside from the houses, you can watch some traditional crafts still being practised. You can take home a hand-made leather belt, old-style shoes, try food from the past or just quench your sweet tooth with a sugar rooster from the sweet shop.

Pottery from Troyan

The mountain town of Troyan and its neighboring village Oreshak are famous for the beauty of their pottery. It has its roots in the past but many young artists interpret the traditions of the pottery and create amazing shapes and shades from clay. As there’re many imitations, it’s best to travel to Troyan to get your piece.

Hand woven lace

Many older Bulgarian ladies are masters of weaving beautiful lace patterns. They often sell their lace tablecloths and clothes in the touristy areas for a reasonable price.

Sharena sol

Sharena sol (literally mixed salt) is a mix of Bulgarian spices used in traditional cuisine. You can buy it in any supermarket but in the busy tourist spots they offer it in a small jar where all the spices, different in color, are arranged to form shapes and figures.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.