Cherven is situated within the Natural Park of the Roussenski Lom, 35 kms south of Rousse, which in itself is a very interesting city on the banks of the River Danube, bordering Romania. One of the oldest cities in Bulgaria, Rousse has some beautiful Neo Rococo and Baroque architecture which explains its nickname of ‘Little Vienna’.

Cherven is a traditional Bulgarian village with a current population of about 300, where people can still be seen getting to the fields and weekly market on carts pulled by donkeys.  Villagers grow their own vegetables and keep goats and sheep which are herded through the streets to common grazing.

The village grew up round a fortified medieval citadel where there is ongoing excavation, revealing more of the fascinating history of the region.   It is described in The Rough Guide to Bulgaria as ‘… a rather brutish and desolate version of Machu Picchu in Peru…’   The area is also famed for a number of Rock Monasteries with two of the best examples in nearby Ivanavo and Basarbovo.