Ruins and remains are proof of the presence of civilization in the neighbouring area since the times of the Thracians.

A fortress which guarded a pass through the Balkan Mountains existed nearby during the Roman Empire.

Kilifarevo has a cultural centre (chitalishte), founded in 1884 and called Napredak ("Progress"), and a museum of local history, which occupies an old house.

There are two Eastern Orthodox churches, St Archangel Michael and Dormition of the Mother of God.

In the wake of the 1923 Bulgarian coup d'état, Kilifarevo saw a peasant uprising [bg] against the new government.