Rila, Strashnoto ezero

A long overdue post about our last summer hike in Rila. On September 22 we hiked along a trail that immediately made it into our Top 10 destinations - a circular trail by some of the most beautiful Rila lakes.

: The trail starts from hotel Malyovitza. We've climbed peak Malyovitza twice, but this time our trail took us in the opposite direction - to Yonchevo lake.

: The day was warm and sunny, one of the last Indian summer days we enjoyed this year.

: The path to Yonchevo lake passes through forests and gradually climbs up.

: There were lots of late blueberries and raspberries along the way, we had a nice berry snack.

: After an hour and 45 min - Yonchevo lake.

: The place was very quiet and beautiful, it could be our final destination one day for a long and nice picnic there. But not this time - we had a quick snack andoff we went further up.

: A memorial plate to Christo Yonchev, an artist, after who the lake was named.

: Yonchevo lake from above as we climbed up the ridge

: A glimpse to the interesting peaks of the Popovokapski ridge

: The tricky part of the trail - up these rocks. It was actually fairly easy, as the day was dry and sunny. In bad weather however these rocks would be slippery and the trail might be truly dangerous.

: As we went higher, we could glimpse other parts of Rila and Pig's lake down in the distance

: And here it is - Strashnoto ezero (the frightful lake) - the final point in our climb. Its turquoise waters and pointy peaks around made for a very scenic view.

: We had a long rest and picnic here, enjoying the day and the scenery

: After we had rested we continued our circular trail down by several other lakes, known as a group - the Prekorechki lakes

: The Needles

: The path back to Malyovitza hut is very steep and long

:And back from Malyovitza hut to Malyovitza hotel by the Malyovitza river we closed the circle. A very notable 7 hours hike in one of the most beautiful places in Rila.