Situated at the foot of the Chernatitsa (Karabalkan) elevation, along the banks of the Chepelarska River, the beautiful Assenovgrad is a convenient starting point for a tour to the Western Rhodopes and especially to the Dobrostan Massif and Chernatitsa, which starts from Pamporovo and reaches the Thracian Lowland. There are beautiful caves, rock bridges and formations and natural phenomena along the age-old coniferous forests. This interesting part of the Rhodopes is one of the most visited by tourists and lovers of nature. The strategic branches of tourism in the municipality are:

• cultural and spiritual tourism
• hunting tourism
• ecological tourism
• scientific tourism

The Assenovgrad municipality is a place with numerous chapels (about 190), churches (about 30) and monasteries (4). There are also a great number of Thracian mounds, which, regrettably, have not been researched yet. All architectural monuments in the municipality are108.

   Assenovata Krepost (Assen's Fortress) 
It is situated about 2 km away from Assenovgrad on a steep rocky ridge hanging over the Assenitsa River. The fortress is known from the historical sources as Petrich, Stenimachos or Scribencion. Its present name, given by the local population, was gradually publicly accepted after the national Liberation in 1878. The best-preserved building in the fortress is the church "Sveta Bogoroditsa Petrichka" (St. Godmother of Petrich), which dates from c. 12 and has been proclaimed a cultural monument of national importance.

   The Bachkovo Monastery "Sveto Ouspenie Bogorodichno" 
This is the second largest monastery in Bulgaria after the Rila monastery. It is situated 10 km south of Assenovgrad, near the village of Bachkovo, along the defile of the Chaya River. It was founded in 1083 by the Georgians Grigoriy and Abanassiy Bakouriani, higher military leaders of the Byzantine emperor Alexiy Komnin. The monastery is very impressive with its architectural and mural ensembles, icons and exquisite church plate. Its reputation of a cultural centre is due to the fact that many Georgian, Bulgarian and Greek men of letters worked there. During the Ottoman oppression, it attracted not only pilgrims, but also people longing for education from all parts of the country. It is thought that after the fall of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom under Ottoman rule the last Bulgarian patriarch - Evtimiy - was exiled here. Three temples have been preserved in the Bachkovo Monastery. The church "Sveti Arhangel Mihail" (St. Archangel Michael) is the oldest of them. The monastery's east wing T he metropolitan's and ecumenical throne, fretwork, c. 17 An antique gospel, c. 17. The church "Sveta Bogoroditsa" was the monastery's cathedral and was built in 1604 together with the dining hall. It was painted in 1643. The church "Sveti Nikola" (St. Nicolas" was built during the national Revival, about 1840. Its frescoes were painted by Zahari Zograf. The only entirely preserved building of the monastery from c. 9 is the famous Bachkovo Ossuary. Its frescoes are of exclusive artistic and historical value. the Bachkovo Monastery and its ossuary have been proclaimed architectural and historical monuments of national importance.

   Assenovgrad has a millennia-old cultural and historical heritage. The favourable combination of the mountain and the plain, the mild climate, the fertile soil, and also being the entrance of the most convenient pass through the Rhodopes, are the reasons why the Assenovgrad region has been populated since earliest antiquity. One of the most interesting prehistoric objects on the municipality's territory is situated in the village of Dolnoslav in the Lopkite area. The first and for now the only Neolithic cult centre in Bulgaria and the whole world, which served the religious and other spiritual needs of the whole Southern Bulgaria's prehistoric inhabitants, was discovered and researched there. According to archaeological data, a Thracian settlement, which was preserved in the Roman period, existed in the site of the present town. There is no evidence of the antique town's name. There are numerous monuments left after the Thracians, which testify to their rich material and spiritual culture. The Thracian rock sanctuaries are exclusively interesting not only for the specialists, but also for the tourists. Four sanctuaries to the Thracian Horseman - the most worshipped deity by the Thracians in the Roman era - were discovered in the Assenovgrad region.