Hiking Trek In Vitosha, Pirin & Rhodope Mountains

A well balanced programme with hiking routes easier than those across the Pirin and the Rila and offering more opportunities to visit culture sites. The stress is on the Mount Vitosha (Bulgaria’s most popular mountain destination due to its close proximity to the capital city of Sofia), the Mount Pirin (Bulgaria’s most beautiful mountain, named after the pagan Slav god Perun), and the Rhodope (Rodopi) Mountains (famed birthplace of mythical musician Orpheus). We visit some of Bulgaria’s remotest and least-known parts, many of them until recently out of bounds for foreigners, and taste traditional local cuisine and hospitality. An exceptional kaleidoscope of beautiful caves, deep gorges, alpine meadows, glacier lakes, monasteries, and museum villages with authentic old-time architecture.

The hiking programme is moderately difficult and designed for people who would not be comfortable on long and tiring treks along steep paths, who would yet like to savour the best the landscape has to offer.

Day 1: We meet you at Sofia Airport and transfer you to the hotel where the group will spend the night.
Day 2: Our day begins with a walking trek across the Mount Vitosha, including crossing the Torfeno Branishte Nature Reserve and climbing the local summit of Cherni Vrah (2290m/7513ft). Our aim after that is the Rila Monastery (one of Bulgaria’s top tourist attractions, listed by UNESCO), where we look at the unique murals and learn the 10th Century abbey’s turbulent history. We then transfer to Bansko at the foot of the Mount Pirin. (5hrs of walking, climbing and descending 500m/1650ft.)
Day 3: Today, we trek across one of the Pirin’s most beautiful parts: the Banderishki Lakes Cirque. In the afternoon, we drop into the town of Belitsa and its unique Performing Bear Rehabilitation Centre, where a multitude of former Serbian and Bulgarian Gypsy dancing bears now enjoy shelter in their natural environment. (5hrs of walking, climbing and descending 300m/1000ft.)
Day 4: An open cable car and a picturesque ramble take us to the Polezhan Summit (2851m/9354ft), which offers one of the most beautiful views in the Pirin: 17 glacier lakes scattered across nearby Cirques. In the afternoon, we continue to the Rhodopes and the village of Trigrad near the renowned Trigradsko Zhdrelo Gorge. (5hrs of walking, climbing and descending 650m/2100ft.)
Day 5: Time to immerse ourselves into the charming atmosphere of Rhodope villages and landscapes. Today’s trek takes us across ancient deciduous forest and green meadows to the village of Vodni Pad right by the Greek border. Following the river, we reach the Dyavolsko Garlo (The Devil’s Throat) Cave, where the river drops across one of Europe’s highest underground waterfalls. (6hrs of walking, climbing and descending 450m/1500ft.)
Day 6: Our path today takes us along the 300m/1000ft tall rocks either side of the Trigradsko Zhdrelo Gorge and then through ancient spruce forests and farmland worked in the traditional manner by local people, we reach the Yagodinska Peshtera Cave (one of Bulgaria’s longest and most beautiful caves). In the afternoon, we make for the spa resort town of Devin. (4hrs of walking, climbing 350m/1200ft and descending 700m/2300ft.)
Day 7: Our last day involves touring a number of culture sights, beginning with the architectural reserve of Shiroka Laka and continuing to the Bachkovo Monastery (Bulgaria’s second-largest). Most of our afternoon will be in the city of Plovdiv, where we shall look round the Old Town with its cobbled lanes, National Revival Period houses, the Ethnographic Museum, the Roman Amphitheatre, and the main thoroughfare. We overnight in Plovdiv.
Day 8: Transfer from Plovdiv to Sofia Airport.

Notes: you may book additional nights in Sofia before or after the tour and opt for day trips with us to culture centres like Koprivshtitsa or Veliko Tarnovo, or else to the Musala Summit (the Balkans’ highest peak at 2925m/9596ft) or the Seven Rila Lakes.

Accommodation: three-star and family hotels; en-suite facilities; breakfast and supper included.