Valley of roses in Bulgaria: how to get precious rose oil

In its beauty, this place is eclipsed by Dutch fields with tulips and greenhouses with exotic tropical plants. A divine aroma is floating in the air of this valley, and hundreds and thousands of bushes of beautiful roses leaving the horizon complete the perfect picture. This is the famous Valley of Roses in Bulgaria, where rose bushes and rose oil have been cultivated for hundreds of years.

The Valley of Roses is located in the very center of Bulgaria and consists of two valleys: along the Stryama River in the western part and the Tundzha River in the east. The climate here is temperate continental, with warm summers and rather mild winters, which is the best suited for growing roses. The unofficial capital of the Valley of Roses and the largest city on its territory is Kazanlak with a population of just over 50,000 people. Life here is measured and unhurried, and almost all fields up to the horizon are planted with bushes of oilseeds.

In the Valley of Roses, a special kind of damask rose is grown - the Kazanlak rose, which was formed here as a result of centuries of selection and under the influence of local climatic conditions. The progenitor of this variety of roses is a damask rose, which was introduced into the territory of Bulgaria in the 13th century from Persia. The industrial cultivation of roses for the production of rose oil began here in the 16th century, when Bulgaria was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. After the liberation of the country from the power of the Turks in 1878, there was a rapid development of the production of rose oil in the Valley of Roses, and in other parts of Bulgaria. This was facilitated by the increased demand for oil from the perfumery and cosmetics industries.

Of all the varieties of rose oils, it is the oil obtained from the Kazanlak rose that is considered the most valuable for use in perfumes. To obtain this product, only freshly picked rose petals are used. The barely opened buds of roses are plucked before sunrise, since it is at this time of day that the plant contains the largest amount of precious essential oil. The oil itself is obtained by steam distillation in special distillation apparatuses. If it is as simple as possible to describe this method of producing oil, the process is as follows: water vapor passes through a thin layer of rose petals, is saturated with the divine aroma of flowers and turns into rose oil, which is collected in special vessels. In order to get 100 ml of rose oil, you need to collect 300 kilograms of rose petals. The main consumers of this essential oil are perfumery, cosmetics and medicine.

Today, in the Valley of Roses, not only a huge number of Kazanlak roses are grown and rose oil is produced, but they are also developing a tourist destination. There are museums and exhibitions dedicated to the production of oil, although, of course, the main attraction of the region are the plantations of rose bushes. This place is very popular with travelers, and there are more and more people wishing to get to the June Rose Festival.