A visit to Bulgaria

It’s always nice to go somewhere new – revitalising, inspiring and refreshing. So when in early October I finally found a window of opportunity to take up Stoyan’s (he is our local agent in Bulgaria) offer to host me and show me ‘his’ mountains, it was nice to finally arrive somewhere different. It was definitely after the best of the trekking season (the summer months) as Stoyan pointed out when he got wet feet (quite rare for a Bulgarian!)

Everything seemed pretty close to hand in Bulgaria. After a 3½ hour Easyjet flight from Manchester we landed in Sofia, a large sprawling city, and drove right through the historical, yellow paved centre on our way out to the Rila Mountains. After 2 hours we arrived at our first little hotel up in the pine forests below Maliovitsa Mountain. As with everywhere else we stayed, we were the only guests – midweek, out of season, and raining. It was a basic, rustic, hotel, full of character and offering good food and beer at only €1 a bottle – what could go wrong!

The next two days were spent (unfortunately predominately in the mist and/or rain) crossing the Rila mountains, ascending Maliovitsa, passing via the spectacular Seven Lakes of Rila and finishing after a lovely descent through mature beech forest at the Rila Monastery. The mist seldom cleared to reveal the spectacular panoramas that Stoyan assured us were there (he’s right – I have seen the pictures), but fortunately did clear so we could appreciate the beauty of the Seven Lakes. Again we had these virtually to ourselves but the eroded trails between the lakes vindicated just how busy Stoyan told us they can be in the summer. Most of the trails were well worn and well marked, but where rough ground is crossed there is very little trail maintenance that we are so used to in our own Lake District, so at times, over rocky ground, the going get a bit tough.

After a brief tour around the monastery we headed off to Bankso, a town on the north side of the Pirin Mountains. Bankso has a delightfully quaint old centre, above which is the more modern skiing centre. Our family-run accommodation for the next two nights was very near to the old centre, and provided excellent home cooked food and homemade ‘rakia’. A delayed start was needed the following day to let the thunderstorms (and the rakia) abate, but once the storm has passed, putting the first winter snows down on the tops, we did manage an ascent of Mt. Vihren, the highest peak in the Pirin at 2914m, and the second highest in Bulgaria.  Views from the snowy top along the renowned ‘marble ridge’ were certainly memorable.

The following day the sun shone! A short drive took us to the chairlift which took us up through beech and pine forest (saving about 2 hours walking) to the idyllic old Bezbog hut situated beside a small lake – real picture postcard stuff. Maybe it was just because we had sunshine this morning, but the scenery on the walk across to the Tevno Ezero hut, where we overnight on our Rila and Pirin trek, was amongst the finest I have ever seen; glacial lakes, terminal moraines and granite walls. After a late lunch at the hut, we completed or brief exploration of the Pirin Mountains with a long descent through the forests to Sandanski. Our driver, Katerina, was waiting for us, prompt as usual, and after a short drive we arrived at our final hotel in the extraordinary little town of Melnik, famed for its strong (very drinkable) wines – a delightful place to end an inspiring few days.

So what does Bulgaria have to offer?

• Extremely good value (8 days for £545)
• Cheap beer at €1 a bottle!
• Magnificent mountain scenery
• Vehicle support
• Chairlifts to start / finish some of the days
• Hotels every night (except one in a comfortable mountain hut)
• Direct flights from London or Manchester
• Excellent salami

Also, new this winter, we have launched a snowshoeing holiday, which we are sure will provide a memorable week’s winter break.

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