Sredna Gora is situated in central Bulgaria, south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and north of the Upper Thracian Plain.

[1][2] To the west, the river Iskar and the Pancharevo Gorge separate Sredna Gora from Plana and the ridges Shipochanski Rid and Shumnatitsa link it to the Rila mountain range.

From there, its southern limits follow the northern edge of the Kostenets–Dolna Banya Valley to the Momina Klisura Gorge of the river Maritsa to the town of Belovo.

From Belovo begins its border with the Upper Thracian Plain, which roughly follows a line through the settlements of Vetren, Kalugerovo, Blatnitsa, Krasnovo, Starosel, Chernichevo and reaching the river Stryama at the village of Pesnopoy.

It spans a territory of 2,300 km2 and has an average elevation of 656 m.[5] Sashtinska Sredna Gora is limited to the north by the southern reaches of the Zlatitsa–Pirdop and Karlovo valleys, and to the south by the Upper Thracian Plain.

The elevation lowers to the south into the valleys of the towns of Panagyurishte and Strelcha, as well as the middle courses of the rivers Luda Yana, Potoka and Pyasachnik.

It has an area of 2,280 km2 and an average elevation of 416 m.[6] It is limited to the north by the southern reaches of the valleys of Karlovo, Kazanlak, Tvarditsa and Sliven; in the south it gradually descents to the Upper Thracian Plain.

Kortenski section is located eastwards of the Zmeyovski Pass and reaches the easternmost point of the mountain range at Zaychi Vrah; its highest peak in Moruley (895 m).

[1] Yet, the uneven altitude, the significant segmentation and the varied exposure of the relief of Sredna Gora, together with the climate-forming impact of the transformative air masses from the neighbouring territories, determine the marked differentiation of the climatic conditions in the mountain range.

In the mountain regions in the transitional climatic zone, where the influence of the Mediterranean is stronger, the precipitation is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year and is also the lowest, reaching 550–600 mm annually.

In the highest parts of Sredna Gora the river flow is 15 L/s per km2, due to the relatively small amount of precipitation, lower snow retention and stronger evaporation.

At lower elevation, particularly in the east, this amount is reduced to 1 L/s per km2, due to the small precipitation, the significant evaporation, the negligible slopes and the permeable ground.

[10] The vegetation of Sredna Gora is influenced not only by the geographical distribution of the soil types, but also by the nature of the climatic conditions, as well as by some features of the relief and human economic activity.

In the places with no arable land on the cinnamon forest soils, the vegetation is represented by oaks, while hornbeams grow on the northern slopes of the hilly and low-mountain terrain.

[11] On the flat ridges of Sashtinska Sredna Gora, on the mountain-meadow soils, grass formations is widely developed, represented by extensive meadows and pastures.

On the southern slopes of the lowest easternmost parts of Sredna Gora there are sparse xerothermic forests, dominated by the largest woods of the Mediterranean turpentine tree (Pistacia terebinthus) in Bulgaria.

[11] Common small mammals include southern white-breasted hedgehog, red squirrel, European edible dormouse, wood mouse, etc.

[10][14] The eastern parts of Sredna Gora were the center of the Neolithic Karanovo culture that flourished between the 6th and the 4th millennium BC and has influenced the Thracian civilization.

[10] An important Thracian burial and cult complex was situated in the Chetinyova Mogila tumulus near Starosel on the southern slopes of Sredna Gora, which includes the largest underground temple in the Balkans.

Evidence of the wealth and power of the Thracian civilization in the region is the Panagyurishte Treasure dated from the 4th to 3rd century BC, consisting of nine vessels weighing over 6 kg of 24-karat gold.

Following the foundation of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 north of the Balkan Mountains, Zagore was the first territory annexed by Bulgaria under the reign of khan Tervel (r. 700–721) and confirmed under the Byzantine–Bulgarian treaty of 716.

[10] By the late 18th and early 19th century many towns in the area, such as Panagyurishte and Koprivshtitsa, achieved some economic prosperity and actively participated in the Bulgarian National Revival, with many revolutionary, cultural and spiritual leaders based in the region.

On 2 September 1885 protests in Panagyurishte sparked the beginning of the Bulgarian unification, which was formally announced a few days later and successfully defended in the Serbo-Bulgarian War.

[26] Due to its strategic location in the center of Bulgaria, Sredna Gora is crossed by several transportation arteries of national and international importance.

[1] In the west, a 79 km stretch of the Trakia motorway crosses Ihtimanska Sredna Gora in direction northwest-southeast between the villages of Novi Han and Kalugerovo.

Along the northern periphery of the mountain range in direction west-east between the villages of Gorna Malina and Mirkovo passes a 36.8 km stretch of the first class I-6 road Gyueshevo–Sofia–Karlovo–Burgas.

[27] Through the Zmeyovski Pass in Sarnena Sredna Gora in direction north-south between the village of Yagoda and the city of Stara Zagora there is a 14.1 km section of the first class I-5 road Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo–Stara Zagora–Haskovo–Makaza.

3 Iliyantsi (Sofia)–Karlovo–Sliven–Karnobat–Varna following the northern foothills of Sredna Gora or the Sub-Balkan Valleys along most of their length in direction west-east, as well as part of railway line No.

[1] In the region around Strelcha and Breznik and in some of the valleys north of the mountain range there are favourable conditions for industrial crops, mainly for extraction of essential oils, such as Rosa × damascena, lavender and mint.

[46][47] Starozagorski bani, located 15 km northwest of the region's largest city Stara Zagora, contains springs with a total discharge of 18 L/sec and temperature of 51.5 °С.