It was time to do more hiking. Luckily Bulgaria has some amazing mountains with lots of different hiking trails to walk, and I was ready for it. Bansko mountains are beautiful and just behind the Rila Monastery is the Rila National Park with some short, but stunning trails. So let’s go!
After all, it has been a few weeks since climbing to the top of Mt. Olympus and my legs have finally recovered.
Hiking the mountains of Bulgaria
The Rila Monastary is stunning and sits in the Rila National Park. (Read my blog about it here). The day I was there, was a gorgeous sunny morning, so I set for a two hours hike (return) towards the Sukhoto Ezero lake. The hike was about 470m elevation and definitely a workout. That said, it was a nice hike through the Bulgarian forest. The view at the top was amazing and the lake perfect for a rest (although the path to the lake was quite non-existing, but I found it).
Either way, it was an afternoon well spent, hiking the mountains of Bulgaria.
Next stop was a small town Bansko in the mountains of Bulgaria, further south. During winter this area is known for skiing and there are plenty of mountains to hike in summer. Perfect spot if you are an outdoor fan like me.
In addition, given that it was low season, I managed to book an apartment in the 5 Star Pirin Golf Resort complex for 26 Euro a night. Although not many restaurants were open (closed for the off-season), I had a perfect base for a few days and to hike.
Mountain Weather
When hiking the mountains of Bulgaria (or any mountains for that matter), the weather can be very unpredictable and changes quite quickly. The next morning the weather was a bit grim and not good for hiking. I could see sunshine where I was and lightning and storms in the mountains around me. So it was a quiet day doing nothing… which can be a challenge too but it was good to rest.
Following the weather forecast closely I knew it would be a sunny morning the day after and, all keen, I woke up to a gorgeous blue sky.
I set off early and drove up to the Vihren Hut at 1950m as my starting point. I wanted to do a hike that had a smaller elevation and the plateau up on the Banasko mountains seemed like a good idea. The hike was easy. It was a stunning landscape and scenery and the various lakes added to the uniqueness. So different! Walking along rocks, fields and streams it was a great trail to walk. Elevation was only 480m.
After 1.5 hours the sun disappeared again and so I decided to turn back. Luckily I did. Because it didn’t take long for the storm to hit. Although the storm didn’t catch me, I only had a drizzle of rain, I could hear the thunder behind me. Back at the hut and hotel, I had the afternoon to rest, watching the clouds over the mountains.
I had a great and active stay in Bansko as well as in the Rila National Park, hiking the mountains of Bulgaria. And all in all a great final to my visit in Bulgaria. What a great country!
Now, it was time for a new country again! Macedonia is next!
