Mountain Weight Loss & Wellness Week in Bansko, Bulgaria

A typical day starts early. Before morning exercise or breakfast there is a detox shot and drinks with added zeolite and Kangen water. Then you are out on a guided hike into the forest or up into the Pirin mountains, with the length and difficulty set to the group. Back at the hotel there is a class — aqua gymnastics in the pool, a combined fitness session, or Hatha yoga outdoors when the weather allows. Chinese breathing exercises and Tae Bo appear through the week as well. Food comes four times a day on a set balanced menu rather than a calorie count, and the kitchen cooks around the diet Professor Popov designed. Twice a week there is a folklore dance session with an instructor, and there are theme evenings and a healthy cooking demonstration with chef Bayrev.

What separates this from a generic spa detox is the amount of walking. Almost every day includes a mountain or forest hike, and on the 7-night programme one full day is given over to a guided mountain trip with a professional guide. The supervision is also more medical than most: a cardiologist examination is mandatory before you begin, and you are weighed and measured with a Tanita bioimpedance analyser at the start and again at the end, so the programme's effect is documented rather than assumed. Teodor Kordev, a kinesitherapist, is with the group for the duration.

This is not a bootcamp and it is not a spa holiday where the exercise is optional. It sits between the two — the activity is scheduled and led, but the tone is walks, dancing and water classes rather than barbells. The food is part of the teaching: the aim is that you leave knowing how to combine products and plan meals yourself, without the yo-yo effect of a drastic diet.

The setting is Bansko, a town in southwestern Bulgaria at the foot of the Pirin mountains, roughly two and a half hours from Sofia. Bansko is best known as Bulgaria's main ski resort in winter, which is why the programme runs April to November. Expect pine forest, marked mountain trails, and a walkable old town with mehanas and a clock tower on the days you have free time.

The spa is a significant part of the week and is included in daily use: indoor pool, outdoor pool, thermal zone, Finnish sauna, steam bath, infrared sauna, salt room, cryosauna, solarium, Jacuzzi and an AEMOTIO waterbed area. Participants get a 10% discount on additional massages and paid spa therapies, and one massage is included per 7 nights. There is also an optional BeautyFit package of 5 therapies totalling 185 minutes, discounted by 20%.

Children aged 10 to 14 can join at a 20% discount, and returning guests get 10% off. The programme runs for 2, 5 or 7 nights, and in the 7-night version there is an included excursion to the Zlaten Rozhen hotel complex, 800 m from Rozhen Monastery, taking in the Retro Car Museum and a winery.

What's included

- Accommodation in a private Studio Lux apartment - Four balanced meals a day on the programme menu - Introductory lecture on the diet and programme - Daily guided mountain and forest hikes - Aqua gymnastics - Combined fitness sessions - Hatha yoga - Chinese breathing exercises - Tae Bo - Folklore dance sessions with an instructor (twice a week) - Daily detox shots and drinks with added zeolite and Kangen water - Bioimpedance Tanita examination - Cardiologist examination requirement and supervision - Daily use of the spa centre, pools and thermal zone - One massage per 7 nights - Demonstrative healthy cooking class with chef Bayrev - Theme evenings - Full-day mountain trip with a professional guide (7-night programme) - Excursion to the Zlaten Rozhen complex, Retro Car Museum and a winery (7-night programme) - 10% discount on additional massages and paid spa therapies - Branded gifts including hats and T-shirts

What's not included

- Travel to Bansko - Airport transfers - Travel insurance - Optional BeautyFit package (5 therapies, 185 minutes, 20% discount applied) - Additional massages beyond the included one - Paid spa therapies beyond the participant discount - Personal expenses - Meals outside the programme menu