booking offices, which are located in the arrivals hall of both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Don’t be tempted simply to walk outside and try to hail an ‘OK’ taxi yourself – there are now at least half a dozen other taxi companies in Sofia who are using the initials ‘OK’ in some form or other, deliberately to catch out unsuspecting tourists.
The current tariff for genuine OK Supertrans taxis is 0.59 leva/km (6am to 10pm) and 0.70 leva/km (10pm to 6am), so the ride to the bus or train stations shouldn’t cost more than 20 leva (€10). The drive normally takes about 30 minutes, but it is good to allow yourself an hour for your connection.
Details of how to reach the relevant trailheads by public transport are given at the start of each walk. The following distances and timings should give you a rough idea of how long it’s going to get to each place from Sofia.
| Walk start | Time from Sofia | Distance from Sofia |
| Divchovoto (Walk 1) | 3hrs 30mins | 130km |
| Mazaneto (Walk 2) | 4hrs | 215km |
| Kalofer (Walk 3) | 2hrs 30mins | 165km |
| Lagat (Walk 4) | 4hrs | 210km |
| Rila Monastery (Walk 5) | 2hrs 30mins | 155km |
| Malyovitsa (Walk 6) | 2hrs 30mins | 100km |
| Borovets (Walk 7) | 1hr 30mins | 80km |
| Kostenets (Walk 8) | 1hr 30mins | 68km |
| Bansko (Walks 9, 10, 11 and 12) | 3hrs 30mins | 200km |
Walking in Bulgaria
The origins of recreational hiking in Bulgaria can be traced back to the end of the 19th century and one man, Aleko Konstantinov, the founding father of the Bulgarian hiking movement. An author and journalist with an intense love of the mountains, he decided to awaken his compatriots’ appreciation of the natural beauties that lay hitherto unnoticed around them. To do so, he organised a mass excursion on the Vitosha Mountains in the summer of 1895, exhorting the citizens of Sofia to leave behind the smoke and dust of the city and experience for themselves the peace and pleasure of the countryside. More than 400 people responded to an advertisement he placed in a newspaper, and on 28 August they set off from Dragalevtsi to climb Cherni Vrah (2290m), the highest peak in the range.
For Konstantinov the outing proved an enormous success, and over the following years more and more people took to the hills and started to explore the country, eventually opening up an extensive network of huts and routes throughout the Bulgarian mountains. Today it is estimated that there are some 40,000km of marked hiking trails spanning the length and breadth of Bulgaria.
Naturally, there are two ways of enjoying a walking holiday in Bulgaria – either independently or on an organised tour. It is hoped that this guidebook will prove useful for both categories of hiker, giving comprehensive route descriptions for those going it alone, but also plenty of supplementary information and background details for those on a guided tour. Furthermore, by providing a detailed account of the flora and fauna of the three national parks through which the trails lead, I hope that this guidebook will also be of use to the growing number of birdwatchers, botanists and other naturalists who are venturing deeper into the mountains on foot.
For those who would prefer to join an organised walking holiday in Bulgaria, there are several companies offering such tours. In the UK, Exodus Travels (www.exodus.co.uk) is at the forefront, and for many years has been operating a range of excellent walking holidays in different parts of country, including a one-week hiking trip in the Pirin and Rila national parks. The German company Kia Ora-Reisen (www.kia-ora-reisen.de) has a two-week trip that takes in all three of the national parks, while the Dutch company Go For Nature (www.gofornature.nl) offers one-week walking and wildlife tours in both the Central Balkan and Rila national parks.
For those who would prefer to join a more specialist group wildlife holiday, then the British-Bulgarian Friendship Society (www.bbfs.org.uk), Nature Trek (www.naturetrek.co.uk), Quest for Nature (www.questfornature.co.uk) and Greentours (www.greentours.co.uk) offer a selection of botanic, butterfly, dragonfly and birding tours in Bulgaria which include visits to the national parks.
Within Bulgaria itself, Balkan Trek (www.balkantrek.com) is one of the country’s leading and most highly respected adventure and eco-tour operators, organising and operating a wide variety of specialist holidays for walkers, birdwatchers, botanists and all lovers of nature. They can also provide local guides and help tailor-make unique walking and wildlife tours for private groups, societies and individuals.
Accommodation
There is no shortage of accommodation in Bulgaria, with alternatives for every taste and budget. Almost all towns have at least one hotel, and many of the mountain villages have small family-run guesthouses (semeini hoteli) or offer B&B (chastni kvartiri) accommodation. Such places tend to be comfortable, welcoming, and offer delicious homemade food.
Once into the mountains themselves, you will find an extensive network of mountain huts (hizhi). Standards of facilities and cleanliness tend to vary quite considerably, but they all offer a bed with sheets, pillow-cases and blankets. There are also quite a number of small ‘refuges’ (zasloni), usually unmanned, that offer a roof over your head if nothing else.
Note that the walks described in this guidebook are all focused in Bulgaria’s national parks, where wild camping is forbidden.
Hizha Ray is a typical mountain hut (Walk 3)
Most of the mountain huts are owned and operated by the Bulgarian Hiking Association (www.btsbg.org), but some are now in private hands. Usually it is possible for individual walkers simply to turn up and find a free bed in larger huts, but during August the huts can occasionally fill up. The Bulgarian Hiking Association does offer a central reservation service for its own huts, so it might be worth trying to book ahead if you are planning your hike for the peak season, and at the same time trying to order an evening meal and/or breakfast if required. You can contact them by e-mail ([email protected]) or by telephone (02-9801285). Normally the person answering calls to this number will be able to speak some English.
Food and Water
Some of the mountain huts do have restaurants, but whether they are functioning or actually willing or able to provide a meal is another matter. It is always best, therefore, to carry your own food supplies with you for a walk, and if you find a hot meal being served at a hut, to enjoy it as a bonus. The vast majority of mountain huts do have water (voda) available
