Zeleznitza - Kupena Hut 2024

It has been 9 years, since we last climbed the trail from the village of Zeleznitza to Kupena hut and back. This is probably one of the steepest trails on Vitosha, with over 800 m elevation gain over less than 6 km. Because of the significant slope, the trail is exhausting in both directions - much more, obviously, up, but the downhill traverse is a killer for the knees and leg muscles. Quite frankly, after yesterday's hike I don't feel an urge to repeat this climb any time soon. No wonder it took us 9 years since the last time :)

Despite the difficulty of the track, it is a fairly popular one, mostly because of its accessibility - the village of Zeleznitza is close to Sofia, with excellent public transport. A lot of the climbers rest at Kupena hut and then continue up ro Cherni vruh - Zeleznitza is one of the starting points of the tracks to the summit. We've done this extreme climb too, but yesterday our aspirations were modest - Kupena hut and back.

Hike info:

Date: 15 June 2024

Destination: Academic hut (1782 m)

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12 km

Elevation gain: 830 m

Total duration: 4 hours

Average difficulty: 6 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxer shorts, cargo pants, hoodie

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims, raglan Burda, hoodie

The trail was very green and the meadows were covered with wild flowers. June is probably one of the most beautiful months on Vitosha.

We had our picnic on the grounds of Kupena hut, recovered our strength and took the same trail back to the village and the car.