Rila Mountains and Plovdiv, Bulgaria

My favourite budget airline started up flights to Sofia in Bulgaria in 2016. A quick bit of research showed me that Bulgaria had good mountains for walking, up to 2900 m, and that these were in easy reach of Sofia by bus. I bought Julian Perry’s Walking in Bulgaria’s National Parks (see Books) and settled on the Rila National Park, which could be accessed via Samokov and Borovets, the popular skiing resort. My plan was to attempt Perry’s Walk 7, a four-day hike starting from Borovets, ascending Musala, the highest mountain in the Balkans at 2925 m, and using the excellent system of guarded mountain huts for overnight accommodation. However, not for the first time, my plans went badly awry as I encountered some very unseasonable mountain weather.

Costs. Flight £57. Sofia hotel (B&B) £27. Borovets hotel 1 (B&B) £23 per night. Samokov hotel (B&B) £13. Borovets hotel 2 (B&B) £27. Plovdiv hotel £31. Sofia–Samokov bus BGN 6.00. Samokov–Borovets bus BGN 1.30. Sofia–Plovdiv bus BGN 14.00. Gondola BGN 12.00. Evening meal with drinks £6-£14. Total cost of trip £410.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia (Day 1, Read my review); Hotel Ela, Borovets (Days 2 and 4, Read my review); Hotel Grand, Samokov (Day 3, Read my review); Ice Angels Hotel, Borovets (Day 5, Read my review); Hotel Mini, Plovdiv (Days 6 and 7, Read my review).

Books. Romania & Bulgaria (Lonely Planet, 7th edition); Walking in Bulgaria’s National Parks by Julian Perry (Cicerone, 1st edition).

Maps. Rila Mountains, 1:50,000, Domino.

Day 1: Travel to Sofia. Left home at 3.50 pm. In view of time of day and awful weather, I should have left at least 30 min earlier! Caught first bus about 4 pm and then airport bus about 4.50 pm. Arrived at airport at 5.32 pm (“Gate closes at 5.30 pm”) and reached gate about 5.45 pm but flight had only just begun boarding. Flight departed about 6.30 pm. Landed at 12.00 midnight and was at my decent hotel (pre-booked) about 30 min later. Taxi driver overcharged me, taking a very indirect route, and then did not have enough change!

Day 2: Travel to Borovets. Went for indifferent breakfast at about 9.15 am. Left hotel about 11.30 am and walked to Bus Station South in pleasant sunshine. Caught 12.30 pm minibus, arriving in Samokov at 1.45 pm. Caught 2 pm minibus to Borovets, which only took 15 min and stopped opposite my very good hotel (pre-booked). Went for beer (probably a mistake in view of the altitude) and then dozed. Went for dinner at about 7.30 pm. Did I really have a decent three-course meal in a clean, friendly restaurant for £9?

Day 3: Attempted walk to Musala hut. Good breakfast at about 9.15 am. Left hotel at 11.05 am and started walking uphill. Followed route in my Cicerone guide up to about 1800 m, aiming for the Musala hut, but it grew cold and drizzly, my pack seemed heavy, the visibility began to worsen, and my spirits evaporated. I tried diverting to Chackur Vojvoda hut but the track was muddy and I retreated. Turned back to Borovets, arriving 2.30 pm (so 3 h 25 min walking). Caught 3.30 pm bus to Samokov and found a nice, modern, clean hotel about 4 pm. Went out for dinner about 7 pm but could not find a single restaurant or bar! Eventually found restaurant in nearby hotel and had chicken soup plus schnitzel with a glass of red wine. Got back to my hotel about 8.45 pm.

Day 4: Attempted walk to Musala summit, 2925 m. Went for simple breakfast at 8.40 am. Left hotel at about 9.40 am and caught 10 am minibus to Borovets. Got gondola ride up mountain, chatting to two young Americans on the way. My plan at this point was still to rejoin Perry’s Walk 7, using the gondola to cut it down to a three-day hike. But the weather at the top of the lift (2369 m) was unbelievable! Maybe only 2-3 cm of snow but masses of rime ice everywhere, covering everything – it was freezing! Visibility was variable, but at worst only about 50 m. Luckily, there was barely any wind. Started walking about 11 am and reached Musala hut at 11.50 am. Weather looked like it might be clearing, so I set off up the Musala path at 12.05 pm. Carried on until I reached the 2600 m point (according to my guidebook) when it began to snow and I turned back at about 12.45 pm. As I did so, I met the Americans again who were headed for the summit with all the impetuosity of youth. Got back to the Musala hut about 1.20 pm. Weather was still closed in so I headed back to the gondola station, arriving about 2.25 pm. Was back down in the village at 2.55 pm and checked myself back into my hotel from Day 2 for one night. Went for dinner at about 7.10 pm.

Day 5: Summit Musala, 2925 m. Left hotel at 9.40 am after very good breakfast. Caught gondola ride at 9.45 am up to 2369 m again. Started walking 10.10 am. Reached Musala hut 10.55 am. Started walking again at 11.00 am. Reached the Ledeno Ezero hut at 12 noon, having overtaken lots of Sunday walkers on the way up. Left 12.20 pm and reached busy Musala summit at 12.55 pm. The weather was fine but the forecast was very poor for the next couple of days, so I could no longer continue with my original plan. Left summit at 1.15 pm and was back down at Musala hut at 3 pm. Arrived at gondola station at 4 pm and was down in village again at 4.25 pm. Checked into new Borovets hotel and later went for dinner.

Day 6: Travel to Plovdiv. Was packed and down for poor breakfast at 8.15 am. Left hotel at about 8.30 pm. Walked down to bus stop on main road but there was no Plovdiv bus, despite the timetable I found on the web. (I later found out that only the 8.10 am from Samokov now goes direct to Plovdiv in the mornings.) Caught 9.30 am bus to Samokov and then 10 am bus to Sofia, which arrived 11.15 am. Got metro into city centre and looked round Serdica ruins. Walked out to train and bus stations and caught 1 pm bus to Plovdiv. Arrived 3.15 pm. Walked towards interesting old town and checked into my (very) small hotel for two nights, arriving at about 4.10 pm. Went out for beer about 6 pm and then food about 7 pm.

Day 7: Tour Plovdiv. Left hotel at 10 am. It was raining heavily and this continued all day. Went to Roman stadium, Costa (45 min), ancient forum, Roman odeon, ancient theatre, old town, churches, fortified hill, etc., before returning to hotel to dry out at about 1 pm. Left hotel again at 4 pm and went to archeological museum. Then went for beer followed by pizza. Back to hotel at about 8.10 pm.

Day 8: Travel home. Left hotel 9.15 am. Left Plovdiv on bus at 9.45 am. Arrived in Sofia at 12 noon. Had snack and a drink in bus station. Got metro and arrived at the airport at about 1.20 pm. Boarded plane at about 3.55 pm. Landed at about 5.45 pm (local time) and got bus into Glasgow city centre and then taxi home, arriving 7 pm.

Other useful links. Samokov bus information

Huts in the Rila Mountains

Reflections. Bulgaria was a surprisingly pleasant country to visit. The people were mostly very friendly and Borovets and the Rila Mountains were pleasingly clean and litter free. Everything was inexpensive and the bus network generally excellent. The problem on my visit was the weather and the misleading weather forecasts. I guess my planned four-day hike would have been perfectly feasible, although the old Musala hut looked rather cramped and unappealing (the others on Perry’s Walk 7 looked fine from their photos). But I did not expect snow and ice in late September and, walking on my own in unfamiliar mountains, I could not proceed with my original plan. I shall have to go back, perhaps earlier in September next time. My Plan B, heading for the lovely city of Plovdiv, was a good one in view of the conditions, but it was a shame to miss the direct bus, while the rain when I arrived there was torrential.

© 2017 The Untravelled World