Madara Rider from Varna: a UNESCO and Shumen day trip

The Madara Rider and the city of Shumen make one of the best day trips from Varna. Madara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an early medieval relief of a horseman carved high on a cliff, and Shumen, about 80 km west of Varna (Wikipedia), adds Bulgaria’s largest mosque, a giant 1981 monument and a hilltop fortress. You can do both in one day by train and bus, or more comfortably by car.

What is the Madara Rider?

The relief shows a rider spearing a lion, followed by a dog, carved about 23 m above the ground on an almost vertical 100 m cliff (Wikipedia). It dates from the very late 7th or early 8th century, the time of Khan Tervel, and is surrounded by medieval Greek inscriptions naming Tervel, Krum and Omurtag. UNESCO listed it in 1979. The reserve also has a small museum, rock-cut monastic cells, a Thracian sanctuary of the nymphs and a stairway up to the plateau, where the remains of a fortress used from Roman times to the 15th century stand.

What is there to see in Shumen?

• Tombul Mosque (Sherif Halil Pasha Mosque), built in the 1740s, is the largest mosque in Bulgaria and still an active place of worship. Dress modestly and avoid prayer times.
• Founders of the Bulgarian State monument, a 52 m concrete monument opened in 1981 (Wikipedia) for the 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria, on the plateau above the city.
• Shumen Fortress, about 3 km from the monument, with layers from the Thracians to its destruction after the Battle of Varna in 1444.

How do I get there from Varna?

• Bus to Shumen: Varna bus station lists Group Plus departures towards Sofia at 05:00, 07:00, 08:30, 11:00 and 13:30 and Union Ivkoni at 18:00 (about 1 h–1 h 15 min, as of 2026-10). Return buses from Shumen leave at around 11:50, 14:55, 18:20 and 21:05.
• Train: Madara is a stop on the Varna–Shumen line. Direct trains from Varna to Madara take about 1 h 30 min, and Madara–Shumen takes 15 minutes (BDZ timetable). The station is roughly 2 km below the relief, an uphill walk.
• Car: the A2 motorway reaches Shumen in about an hour; Madara is 17 km east of Shumen, so you pass it on the way.

Schedules change; check razpisanie.bdz.bg and autogaravn.com on the day.

A sample day without a car (Tuesday to Saturday)

Time	Plan
07:00	Group Plus bus Varna → Shumen (arrives about 08:10)
08:30	Tombul Mosque in the centre
10:00	Taxi up to the monument, then Shumen Fortress (closed 12:00–13:00)
14:00	Train Shumen → Madara (arrives 14:14), walk up to the reserve
14:45	Madara Rider, museum and plateau
17:44	Train Madara → Varna (arrives 19:28)

Times are from the BDZ and Varna bus station timetables for late October 2026.

How should I plan it?

• Sunday or Monday? Shumen Fortress and Pliska are closed; do Madara and the mosque only.
• With a car, start at Madara at 8:30, continue to Pliska, then spend the afternoon in Shumen.
• Tickets at Madara and Pliska are €3.58, Shumen Fortress €3.07, and a 3-day pass for all museum sites costs €12.78 (Shumen museum price list, as of 2026-10).
• Wear good shoes: Madara and the Shumen plateau both involve steep steps.

For more Bulgarian heritage read what Bulgaria is famous for, and for driving tips see driving to Varna.