Rewilding efforts are enhancing the remarkable biodiversity of Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains. Helping nature-positive businesses in the landscape turn ecological wins into unforgettable visitor experiences can deliver a more hopeful future for local communities and amplify wildlife comeback.
Enhancing nature-based tourism
With their dramatic landscapes and spectacular biodiversity, Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains have enormous nature-based tourism potential — potential that is growing as rewilding efforts by the Rewilding Rhodopes team drive nature recovery and wildlife comeback. Yet the scaling up of such tourism is currently restricted by a lack of offerings and a scarcity of visitor accommodation.
A 40,000-euro loan from Rewilding Europe Capital — Rewilding Europe’s enterprise loan facility — is set to help drive positive change in the region. It will allow Marin Kurtev, owner of nature-based tourism company Nature Madzharovo, to transform an existing property into a guesthouse for up to 12 visitors, renovate several wildlife hides, and purchase new boats for kayaking trips along the Arda River.
Thriving together
As Marin’s business develops and creates more local employment opportunities, it will help nature and people thrive together in the Rhodope Mountains on a growing scale.
“My aim is for Nature Madzharovo to serve as a showcase for how tourism can support nature recovery and rural development,” he explains. “By expanding our wildlife and adventure activities, strengthening our accommodation offerings, and developing educational and cultural programmes that connect visitors more closely with local nature and the community, we can make this area into a flourishing hub for sustainable tourism.”
Reconnecting people with nature
Nature Madzharovo is based in the small town of Madzharovo in southeast Bulgaria, nestled on the banks of the Arda River. In collaboration with the Rewilding Rhodopes team, the business offers a wide range of activities across the Rhodope Mountains rewilding landscape — including adventure tourism, kayaking and rafting, birdwatching, and wildlife photography.
The opening of the new guesthouse will attract more visitors to the Rhodopes, help Nature Madzharovo meet the growing seasonal demand for accommodation, and introduce more people to the wild beauty of the area. This expansion will strengthen the local economy and enable Marin to employ at least two additional team members. Local builders and craftspeople will be involved in the renovation, further supporting livelihoods and skills within the community.
The loan from Rewilding Europe Capital will also allow Nature Madzharovo to enhance its popular wildlife-watching hides, which give visitors the chance to observe and photograph some of the Rhodope Mountains’ most iconic species. In addition to refurbishing existing hides — where lucky visitors may spot eagles, vultures, and wolves — the funding will support the construction of new hides designed for viewing other species, such as waterfowl and songbirds. Rewilding Europe frequently features stunning wildlife images shot by Marin and his son Georgi, many of which are captured from these hides, to showcase the remarkable biodiversity of Eastern Europe.
Immersive rewilding experiences
Nature Madzharovo’s new guesthouse will be more than a place to stay. It will act as a gateway to immersive journeys through the landscape that showcase the beneficial impact of rewilding and nature-positive tourism.
The Nature Madzharovo team have a longstanding relationship with the Rewilding Rhodopes foundation and have collaborated on many occasions — from supporting the construction of an aviary for cinereous vultures to guiding activities and other joint initiatives. The business has also helped to boost griffon vulture numbers through supplementary feeding, and offers hikes in search of Konik horses, which have been reintroduced by the Rewilding Rhodopes team to enhance natural grazing.
“We offer authentic, nature-based experiences in one of the wildest and most beautiful parts of Europe,” says Marin Kurtev. “Our activities combine adventure, wildlife, and cultural discovery, guided by local experts who have an intimate knowledge of the area. By choosing us, visitors can enjoy a range of memorable experiences while also supporting local livelihoods and nature recovery.”
“By choosing us, visitors can enjoy a range of memorable experiences while also supporting local livelihoods and nature recovery.”
A biodiversity hotspot on the rise
With their relatively unspoiled landscapes, rich diversity of habitats, and low level of human disturbance, the Eastern Rhodopes are a haven for wildlife and one of the most popular birdwatching hotspots in Europe. Ongoing rewilding efforts have seen populations of keystone herbivores such as red and fallow deer, European bison, and wild horses released, with benefits for local populations of carnivores, such as wolves, and scavengers, such as vultures. The area is home to a thriving colony of griffon vultures and an important site for the globally threatened Egyptian vulture, while cinereous vultures are currently being reintroduced.
Once known for its thriving mining industry, Madzharovo now relies primarily on small-scale agriculture. However, there is great potential for nature-based tourism to play a much more significant economic role, with vulture conservation efforts already revitalising the town. The collaboration between Nature Madzharovo and Rewilding Rhodopes is creating new income opportunities, supporting nature recovery, and fostering a renewed sense of pride within the local community.
Nature Madzharovo intends to be one of the first businesses from the Eastern Rhodopes to join Wilder Places, the new travel booking platform launched by Rewilding Europe this summer. This will see the company become part of a growing network of rewilding tourism providers across Europe. The network and the platform aim to drive the growth of rewilding tourism by offering nature-loving travellers meaningful, impactful experiences across rewilding landscapes.
Investing in a wilder future
Nature Madzharovo is passionate about sharing the beauty and diversity of the Eastern Rhodopes, while protecting and enhancing the wild nature the business depends on. With the support of Rewilding Europe Capital, Marin and his team are investing in the area’s nature and its people, offering hope of a brighter future for all.
“We’re really excited to be working with Nature Madzharovo because the company already has a track record of delivering positive impact for nature and local communities — and this is set to grow,” says Daniel Veríssimo, Rewilding Europe’s Conservation Finance Expert.
“At Rewilding Europe Capital we want to invest in both new and existing enterprises that can enhance rewilding impact across Europe – both on land and in the sea. If you own or know of a business that you believe would benefit from a partnership with us, or if you’d like further information, please contact me.”