The town of Chepelare is situated in the heart of the Rhodope mountain, in a small valley, along the two banks of Chepelarska river. It is 222 km from Sofia and 72 km from Plovdiv. This is the town, situated at the highest altitude in Bulgaria. It is a typical resort centre, mostly winter resort.
The valley has been populated since ancient times, which was proved by different objects, considered being of Thracian origin. Some Bulgarian Christian tombs dating back to 12th – 14th century were found on the neighbouring land of the town.
In 1726 the newcomers bought the land and became owners of the valley and the surrounding hills. So the settlement of Chepelare was found.
In 1836 the Chepelare inhabitants built the church of St.Atanasii and 3 stone turrets within 40 days. In 1876 a second temple “Holy Mother of God” was inaugurated.
With the beginning of the 20 th century and especially between 1930 and 1940, the town was turned into a resort site.

Landmarks
The church St.Atanas;
The church “Holy Mother of God”;
Museum of Speleology and Bulgarian Karst. It is an unique museum not only for Bulgaria, but also for the Balkan Peninsula and Europe;
Museum of Ski sport;
Cultural House “Rhodopska Iskra”.

Surrounding areas
1.5 km south of the town, near the road to Smolyan and Pamporovo is the bottom station of the two-chair rope lift. It is 2471 m long, its transportation capacity is 600 persons per hour and it takes the skiers and tourist within 17 minutes to the Chala peak (1873 m), where the starting points of the ski runs are located.
10 km south-west of the town is one of the largest and most famous winter resorts in the country – Pamporovo.
At a road distance of 15 km southeast of the town, high on top of Mechi Chal peak the Rozhen Observatory is located, which is opened for tourist visits.