Ayazmoto Park is one of the largest and finest urban parks in Bulgaria — nearly 400 hectares of mature woodland covering the forested hillside north of the city centre. Walking paths wind through oak and hornbeam forest, past fountains and clearings with views back over the city and the Thracian plain beyond. The park has been a city retreat since the Ottoman period; the name comes from the Turkish for holy spring.
The park contains the Stara Zagora Zoo, a small but reasonably kept collection of animals, as well as an open-air theatre that hosts concerts and performances through the summer. The annual Festival of Romani Music and Songs is held here each summer, drawing performers from across Bulgaria and beyond. There is also a modest astronomical observatory open for public evenings. The park is large enough to lose yourself in for a full morning.