The town of Kalofer (3991 inhabitants, 600 metres above sea-level) is beautifully situated along both banks of Tundga River, in a small valley in the eastern foot of the Strazhata Hill (The Sentry) (a natural connection between the Balkan and the Sredna Gora Mountains.

Introduction & History
Above it, spreading its mighty shoulders stands the highest peak in the Balkan Range – Mt. Botev. The town is located 17 km east of Karlovo, 158 km east of the capital city - Sofia, 38 km west of Kazanluk, 75 km north of Plovdiv. It is the birthplace of the great Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev.
History: Its name can not be found in the ancient or the medieval history of our lands. On this place there were once thick, impassable and desolate woods. To the west, in the valley of Byala Reka River (White River), was the old town Zvanigrad, from which there is not a trace left today. Due to the strong resistance, the Turks wiped out the town, but the proud and sturdy defenders remained unconquered. A group of 40 heroes, led by Kalifer Voivoda ("voivoda" meaning leader of a group of armed revolutionaries), roamed for long throughout the area, defending their fellow Bulgarians and arousing terror in the Ottomans. The Turks were powerless to deal with the detachment and so the Sultan gave the voivoda permission to settle in the woods along with his men, giving them privileges to establish a settlement with the statute of derventdzhii (special guards of the roads and passes in the mountains, appointed by the Turks). The haidouti (armed revolutionaries, volunteers, members of a detachment) kidnapped maids from Sopot, which was famous for its beauties, and that is how the town of Kalofer originated.