The town of Asenovgrad is the second biggest in the district with a population of 52 000 inhabitants. It is situated along the Chepelarska River at the western part of the Upper Thracian Valley. The town is a municipal centre with 29 component settlements. Asenovgrad lies at a distance of 19 km southeast of Plovdiv. The town is known under the name of Stanimaka until 1934.

In the region of the town have been discovered remains from a Thracian and a medieval settlement, more than 100 Thracian mounds with interesting findings. During the Middle Ages the town has been a well-fortified place. The first document mentioning Asenovgrad is the Statute of the Bachkovo Monastery. There it is written under the name of Stanimahos which in translation means defended narrow place. The Petrich fortress, also known as Vasilikis has existed during XI c. It lies at a distance of 2 km from the present-day town on a high rocky ridge. In 1230 King Ivan Asen II fortifies and widens the fortress leaving an inscription on a rock above the fortress' entrance to commemorate the deed. This inscription is he purpose the fortress to be later on called Asen's fortress and in 1934 the town is also named Asenovgrad. The most well-preserved monument is the "St. Bogoroditza Petrichka" church from XII c. It is a two-storey building with a square tower to the west.

The Bachkovo Monastery lies at a distance of 10 km from Asenovgrad and 25km from Plovdiv. It has been founded in 1083. It has preserved annals from a Georgian artist.

Other tourist sights of the town are: The History Museum, the churches "St. Yoan Predtecha", "St. Georgi" (XVIII), "St. Bogoroditza"/Holy Virgin/ (1836), The Deep Church (1767), "St. Dimiter" (1866), and Belintash - a Thracian cult centre by the village of Dolnoslav.

Narechenski Bani lies at a distance of 24 km southwest of Asenovgrad along the Chepelarska River. The village is a well-known spa resort. The mineral waters have a temperature of 20,5-31,2^oC and are used for the treatment of diseases of the metabolism, the nervous system, cardiovascular and other diseases. The mineral spring "Soleno izvorhe"/The salty spring/ has the biggest radioactivity in Bulgaria - up to 1300 emans.

Tourist sights

The Bachkovo Monastery in the village of Bachkovo at a distance of 11 km from Asenovgrad is the second biggest Bulgarian monastery. The monastery is surrounded by the hills of the picturesque Rhodope Mountains. It has been founded in 1083 by the Byzantine priest from Georgian origin Grigorii Bakuriani and his brother Abazii. From that period has been preserved the church. It is located at a distance of 300 m from the present-day monastery and is the only preserved church from that period. The steep terrain has been skillfully used for forming two floors: the lower - for a chapel with a tomb and the upper -used for the church. The church is unique with its murals from XI c. painted by the Georgian artist Iveropuletz. The founder's portrait of Ivan Alexander has been painted in XIV c. Later on the monastery has the fate of most Orthodox monasteries and has been plundered and ruined by the Ottoman troops. After the period of its burning and destruction at the end of XVI c. starts its restoration. Over the foundations of the old church has been erected the present-day temple "Uspenie Bogorodichno"/ The Assumption/. In 1643 the southern wing of the monastery's dining room has been built with rich decorations. The monastery has its own museum where one can see ritual objects of different periods.

Asen's fortress is a medieval fortress situated on a high rock. The rocky inscription says: "In the year of 6379(1231) Asen, god-chosen king of the Bulgarian and Greek people as well as of other nations, built this fortress". After the fall of Bulgaria under the Ottoman Yoke the fortress is gradually demolished. Only the tower and the two water reservoirs are preserved from the fortress. Asen's church is a single-nave dome church. Above the narthex there is also a tower built over the rock. The church is restored in 1934 and 1985.

The Paleontological Museum is a branch of the National Nature-Science Museum. It has a collection of 20 000 exhibits

The "St. Georgi" Church in Asenovgrad dates back to XVII c. and has been built over the foundations of an older temple. The murals of the church are painted by the icon-painter Yoan from the village of Voden and Zahari Zograf.

The "St. Kirik and Yulita" Monastery in the village of Gorno Voden has been founded in the Middle Ages. The monastery has been restored to its present-day state in 1835. The murals are painted by Aleksi Atanasov and some of the icons are painted by Zahari Zograf.

The Arapovo Monastery "St. Nedelya" in the village of Zlatovrah lies at a distance of 6 km northeast of the town. The church has characteristic artistic murals.

The "St. Petka Muldavska" Monastery is situated on the southern slope of the Rhodope Mountains above the village of Muldava at a distance of 4 km southeast of Asenovgrad. The legend says that the monastery is established during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom and has been burned down during the Turkish invasion. Written evidence of the existence of the monastery has been preserved from XVI c. in some Asenovgrad's documents while precious data for its history is kept in the inscriptions of the monastery.

The rocky Thracian sanctuary "Belintash" is one of the cult centres of the "civilization of the rocky people". In the rocks can be seen hewn stairs, niches, gullies and basins. According to contemporary research all megalithic sanctuaries are situated at places with magnet anomalies. At the foot of the rocky massif has been discovered a ritual slab with the image of the ancient Thracian deity Sabazii.