Atolovo lies at 128 m above sea level, in the Straldzha Plateau of the Sliven Valley.

The village, intended for ethnic Bulgarian refugees from Greek Macedonia and Eastern Thrace, was officially established in 1926 with the support of the British organization Save the Children and the financial aid of the 8th Duke of Atholl.

During the Communist rule of Bulgaria, the village was briefly renamed Harizanovo, after a local guerrilla fighter, but the old name was shortly reinstated.

British volunteers helped construct houses for the refugees, as well as a cultural centre (chitalishte) and a church.

Today, there is a monument to the Duke of Atholl in the village made by the sculptor Mincho Ognyanov.