Manastirishte February 2026

What a glorious day was today, after months of grey skies, rain, snow and cold. Finally some real sunny day, real comfortable temperatures and almost no cold wind, even on the mountain ridge - pure bliss!

A day like that deserved a hike along a favourite trail in the open - so it was Manastirishte again.

The latest snow in the city is almost gone, on Plana it was still present in scattered patches, but most of it had melted and the ground was very wet and muddy.

Hike info:

Date: 27 February 2026

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 9 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 hours 20 minutes

Average difficulty: 2 / 10 

 

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, knitted socks, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse, Burda hoodie

I: lingerie, knitted hat, knitted socks, Monte Rosa cardigan

The small lake - I'm almost certain, that this lake was just a puddle when we started hiking here ten years ago.

A lonely early crocus - in two-three weeks the fields under the peak will be covered in purple crocuses, spring is on the way!

Another puddle, which the spring melting has promoted into a lake

This time we opted to try a new approach to the peak - a took a roundabout trail, which lead us to a steep path, climbing to the ridge of the hill at a ridiculously abrupt angle. The slope must have been near 40 degrees, it was a short, but vigorous exercise.

The snow covered ridge of the mountain

There were almost no tourists today, for the entire duration of the hike we met only two other hikers.

My whole essence in a photo - the sun is shining, the gorgeous peaks of Rila are standing tall behind me and my soul is singing :)

We had our delicious lunch on the southern slopes of the peak, with a view to the village of Plana and the chain of snow covered peaks of Rila.

And back along the alternative trail, to close the circle. Very, very pleasant hike! I'm so happy the cold and dark winter is at its end and the sunny hiking days are awaiting us.

Family Christmas Hike on Manastirishte

A rare occasion in our hiking life: a family trek with both of our grown-up children.

While Christmas Day was cold and snowy, the following day brought sun and calm weather. We packed our bags and drove to the village of Plana, nestled at the foot of the Plana Mountains.

We weren't sure what state the trails would be in; though the snow in the city had melted quickly, it had held in the mountains. The landscape was a snowy fairy tale.

The tracks had been trodden by ATVs—muddy and disturbed in places—but they remained fairly easy to navigate.

Hike info:

Date: 26 December 2025

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 8.5 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): about 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10 

 

The sun drifted in and out of the clouds and fog, but temperatures stayed comfortably above freezing. 

It was fascinating to see the fields and trees draped in fresh snow; I couldn't stop taking pictures of the scenery.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, knitted socks, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse, knitted hat

I: lingerie, Sinclair Lotte blouse, sweater, CC copycat hat, Zerda knitted gloves, purple snood

Gaby: lingerie, CC copycat hat

Alex: knitted hat 

 

Hiking with our children was such a joy, and three hours of trekking through the snow passed quickly in lively conversation.

Since everything was buried in white, finding a spot for a picnic was a challenge. Eventually, we found a cluster of large rocks along the trail. We cleared one off and enjoyed delicious tortillas and hot herbal tea, sitting there and marveling at the beauty of the mountain.

Manastirishte Again

After a few weeks of big hikes with long drives to the starting point, it was time for something familiar and relaxing, our beloved Manastirishte. We enjoy our hikes here so much, that husband is inclined to come here every second week :)

The forecasts for today were for windy, but sunny day with some clouds and fortunately the weather was in agreement with the forecasters and even exceeded our expectations - it was quite warm and the wind was pretty moderate. 

Hike info:

Date: 22 November 2025

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 8 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): about 3 hours

Average difficulty: 2 / 10 

We started around 10 o'clock from home and at noon we were already on the peak

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, knitted socks, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse

I: lingerie, Sinclair Lotte Hoodie, Love Notions Sabrina Slims II

 

Lately we have our picnic on the table at the summit, but today we decided to try a new place on the southern slopes of the peak.

The view from our picnic spot, where we had our traditional tortillas and cold beer, sitting on the warm grass. Lately we've been very picky about our picnic places and today, on our way back, we tested a couple of new picnic spots for our next hike. A grassy patch on the southern slope under the peak with a clear view to the village and the mountains across looked most promising and will probably be our  picnic place when we next climb Manastirishte.

And back to the village along a partially alternative trail. Short and easy, but extremely satisfying.