Banya, Burgas Province

Banya is a village in South- East Bulgaria, situated in the Burgas region (since 1999). It is situated at the foot of the Eastern part of the Balkan Mountains, 6 km from the Black Sea Coast.

Banya is 18 km away from Sunny beach (the largest Bulgarian sea resort), 25 km from the ancient Nesebar and 50 km from Burgas and Varna - the biggest Bulgarian administrative centres on the Black Sea Coast.

The village has been populated by Turkish coal merchants and Greek fishermen until the 1910s. Gradually, the original inhabitants have been evicted and Bulgarian settlers from Asia Minor coast and the Aegean Macedonia moved in.

Irakli, the nearest beach, is one of the last remaining non-commercially developed beaches in Bulgaria. It is a place of unparalleled and unspoilt beauty, a lush fine sandy beach of nearly 4 km, backed by low shrubbery and forest growth.

Frequented by an 'in-crowd' in the summer months it is largely deserted October to May.

Recently an influx of expats, mainly from the UK started shaping a small community - currently numbering about 10 families, some of them permanent settlers.

Source: [www.bourgas.org/banya]