Seven Rila Lakes 2022

Our annual, seventh hike to the Seven Rila Lakes, one of my most favourite places in the country. 

This summer the weather in the mountains is somewhat unstable, with frequent rains and thunderstorms, but we managed to find a day, that was convenient for us and with favourable weather conditions and off we went, starting very early in the morning.

:The first two of the lakes, seen from the ridge above the Seven Rila lakes Hut.

Hike info:

Destination: Mt. otovitza (2696 m)

Mountain: Rila

Total length: 16 km

Elevation gain: 600 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 5 hours

Average difficulty: 6.5 / 10

:We happened upon the White Brotherhood, kind of christian-yoga sect, who gather every August at the Sunny Meadow to meditate, sing and dance

:The Kidney Lake and the Sunny Meadow from above

:The Eye, the deepest of the Seven

:On the Lake Peak

:After the Lake Peak we continued our hike towards the Razdela - a cross point of several major trails in Rila

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Knipmode cargo pants

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims, hoodie

:From Razdela we continued along the Otovitza ridge towards Mt. Otovitza

:The Kalin peaks, the Big Pazar dere and Ivan Vazov hut down there

:The views from Otovitza ridge were gorgeous in every direction and from some of the sections all of the Seven Rila Lakes were visible at a glance

:At Mt. Otovitza. We had our lunch on the peak, with a gorgeous view to the Kalin peaks

:And then we took the extremely steep trail down from Mt. Otovitza to the Eye lake

:At the Eye from the other direction

:After the Eye we followed the trail, which passes near the remaining four lakes, thus making a giant figure eight around the area. The Twin lake

:The Trifoil

:The Fish lake and the Rila lakes hut. The area around the two big huts was covered with tents, probably because of the White Brotherhood gathering