Thousands join annual march retracing route of Botev’s rebel detachment

Participants in the 78th National March “In the Footsteps of Botev’s Rebel Detachment” set off today on the traditional 120-kilometre route from Kozloduy to Mount Okolchitsa in the Vratsa Balkan mountain range. The march continues until 2 June and retraces the path taken by the detachment of the Bulgarian revolutionary poet Hristo Botev in 1876 after they disembarked from the steamship Radetzky on the Danube River.

More than 1,800 people have registered for this year’s edition, organised by the regional administration in Vratsa. Participants will walk together along the so-called “Botev route” as part of a pre-arranged programme, according to the Kozloduy municipality.

The annual march is one of Bulgaria's largest patriotic hiking initiatives and is traditionally attended by large numbers of students and young people.

This year’s event also marks the 150th anniversary of the sacrifice of Hristo Botev and his rebel detachment during the April Uprising against Ottoman rule.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova