EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail - part Bulgaria South, stage 2: Hadzhidimovo → Smolyan
On stage 2 (Hadzhidimovo → Smolyan, 116 km) the best month is September: 76% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C; the wind barely favours either direction (0.1 km/h on average; ERA5 2006–2025, 9:00–18:00).
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Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4% | 20% | 75 | 3 °C | 0% | 96% | 9.5 † |
| February | 17% | 22% | 64 | 5 °C | 0% | 82% | 10.5 † |
| March | 34% | 33% | 91 | 8 °C | 0% | 59% | 11.8 |
| April | 47% | 45% | 99 | 13 °C | 0% | 26% | 13.3 |
| May | 48% | 52% | 117 | 17 °C | 0% | 3% | 14.5 |
| June | 47% | 52% | 120 | 22 °C | 1% | 0% | 15.2 |
| July | 64% | 30% | 72 | 24 °C | 6% | 0% | 14.9 |
| August | 73% | 23% | 53 | 25 °C | 5% | 0% | 13.8 |
| September | 76% | 23% | 60 | 20 °C | 0% | 2% | 12.4 |
| October | 72% | 21% | 71 | 15 °C | 0% | 14% | 11.0 |
| November | 41% | 20% | 69 | 10 °C | 0% | 53% | 9.8 † |
| December | 7% | 20% | 79 | 5 °C | 0% | 92% | 9.2 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Hadzhidimovo → Smolyan, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Hadzhidimovo → Smolyan | Headwind > 15 km/h, Smolyan → Hadzhidimovo | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +0.7 | 0% | 0% | either |
| February | +0.7 | 0% | 0% | either |
| March | +1.0 | 0% | 1% | either |
| April | +0.8 | 0% | 1% | either |
| May | +0.7 | 0% | 0% | either |
| June | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | either |
| July | −0.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| August | −1.3 | 0% | 0% | either |
| September | −0.1 | 0% | 0% | either |
| October | +0.3 | 0% | 0% | either |
| November | +0.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| December | +0.4 | 0% | 0% | either |
Along the route (sections of about 25 km)
| km | Heading | Tailwind in September, km/h |
|---|---|---|
| 112–137 | NE | +1.2 |
| 137–162 | E | −0.5 |
| 162–187 | E | −1.4 |
| 187–213 | E | −0.3 |
| 213–228 | SE | +1.1 |
Other stages
- near Novo Selo → Hadzhidimovo 112 km
- Hadzhidimovo → Smolyan 116 km
- Smolyan → Dzhebel 114 km
- Dzhebel → near Ivaylovgrad 114 km
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.