Ten breathtaking festival locations

Meadows In The Mountains Smolian, Bulgaria

This festival's frankly dumbfounding site is situated high in the Rhodope Mountains, near a small village called Polkovnik Serafimovo that lies close to the Greek border.

A gruelling 15-hour journey from the UK, it's a ski resort in the winter, which gives you an idea of the surrounding terrain. Getting there requires scaling said mountains and travelling through post-Soviet ghost towns before finally ending on the back of a local horse-drawn cart taxi, as the mountainous terrain becomes impassable by car. Only the truly dedicated will make a visit.

Those that do are met by what must be the most awe-inspiring festival sunrise on the planet: above the clouds looking across what could easily be mistaken for a location from Lord Of The Rings. The festival hand-picks artists to play Sunrise Stage sets, something like an inverted Ibiza, and the festival itself, lined by traditional Bulgarian bells that ring in the breeze, is a family affair with reports of second-hand waterproofs sold from the founder's car boot and cheap local food sold at the village shop.

Meadows in the Mountains takes place mid June