Cherni Vruh with Vali, 2026

Gaby and her boyfriend visited us last week and we did some travelling and hiking together. On the first day of their stay, Gaby had some uni reunion, while the remaining three of us went on a hike on Vitosha along one of our most favourite circular trails - from Aleko, along the "King's road" to Cherni vruh and from there down to the high altitude circuit back to Aleko hut.

Though it was forecast fairly hot and sunny in the city, the mountain has its own climate and the hike started a bit chilly and cloudy, which made the climb very pleasant.

Hike info:

Date: 28 June 2026

Destination: Cherni Vruh (2290 m)

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 16 km

Elevation gain: 500 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 5 hours

Average difficulty: 4.5 / 10 

We had our tortillas, cold beer and homemade muffins on the peak and from then on we continued east towards peak Skoparnika.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Burda raglan blouse, Burda color jeans

The mountain was probably at its best, green and full of flowers, some of which are emblematic for the region - mountain lily, yellow globe flower, wild orchids and many others, an impressive wild garden.

Probably my favourite - the emblem of Vitosha, the yellow globe flower.

Though fairly long - 16 km, the trail is very pleasant and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Another marker on the way - the crooked pine.

And back to Aleko hut.

Simeonovo - Dragalevski Monastery

The first days of May came with Gaby and cold weather, unrelated :) Despite the biting cold, we managed to squeeze a hike, literally between the raindrops, on Saturday and drove to Simeonovo, one of the residential areas of Sofia at the skirts of Vitosha mountain. 

The beech forest was already wearing its green spring uniform and was beautiful and enchanting. The cold rain, however, had turned into snow during the night and there were scattered patches of snow on the grass and a few fallen blooming trees. 

The sun was partial, mostly hidden behind the clouds, the air was cold, but the brisk pace and the engaging conversation with our daughter kept us quite warm.

Hike info:

Date: 02 May 2026

Destination: Dragalevski Monastery

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 13 km

Elevation gain: 310 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 4 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

The trail is very pleasant and almost level, most of it is part of the low altitude Vitosha circuit.

The Aleko waterfall - after all the snow and rain this winter, the rivers are quite full watered.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda blouse, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Sinclair Lotte blouse, leg warmers

Gaby: lingerie, Sinclair Journey jacket, knitted hat 

We had our picnic at the picnic area near the Dragalevski monastery, enjoying delicious tortillas, herbal tea and coffee together with lovely table talk. 

We had a quick walk around the monastery grounds and headed back to the car along the same trail. 

The Aleko waterfall again, from another angle

Despite the forecast for rain, the clouds held tight and the rain started only after we were already in the car on our way back home. A very enjoyable hike, even with the unusual May cold.

Bistritza Aleko 2025

I've been so berried in work and engagements lately, that I have time neither for my hobbies nor for blogging. Gaby was visiting us, then her boyfriend joined us and we had some wonderful time together. Meanwhile husband and I have been using every possibility to hike in the mountains, as summer is so short and before we know it, it will be over. I don't want to leave blanks in my diary blog, so here is a short recap of our previous hike.

Last Friday husband and I decided to do a repeat of a route we designed two years ago - from the village of Bistritza to Aleko hut along the Bistritza river and then back to Bistritza along the Yanchovska river. Both trails run through the Bistrishko banishte preserved area.

The trails are picturesque and fairly easy, despite the significant altitude gain.

The major impediment to our progress were actually not the rivers, the steepness or the insects, but the ripe raspberries :) They were really plentiful,extra big and super ripe and sweet. We ate, until we had stomach pains and then we decided to collect some, filling our lunch boxes with soft berries.

Hike info:

Date:  15 August 2025

Destination: Aleko Hut, round trail

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 16 km

Elevation gain: 740 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 5 and a half hours with raspberry picking and eating

Average difficulty: 5 / 10 

The day was a bit cloudy, with some chillness at Aleko hut.

We had our lunch at the hut - tortillas and the hit of the summer - cinnamon cookies.

On the way back we continued to fill the lunch boxes with raspberries, until we got fed up with eating and picking. The trail along Yanchovska river is probably a bit steeper, but very scenic and beautiful, I liked it a lot.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxer shorts, Burda blouse, Burda hoodie

I: lingerie, Love Notions LDT tunic, Love Notions joggings

As we got home, we decided to make raspberry jam with the berries we had gathered and for our efforts we got four and a half jars of very delicious jam - probably the best I've made so far our of raspberries. The quality of the fruit does matter and these were really superb berries. If we decide to hike there next year, we'll probably should eat less and gather more :)

Simeonovo - Dragalevtzi 2025

We've hiked the easy trail from Dragalevski Monastery to Simeonovo lakes many times, yesterday however we decided to drive to Simeonovo, leave the car there and walk the trail to Dragalevski monastery and back. 

The start from Simeonovo added some 3 km total to the hike and a good cardio exercise at the beginning of the trail, where the hiker has to cover a significant elevation gain. The pay off - we had our lunch at the picnic area near the monastery, which was nice and quite comfortable.

As we get usually Fridays off,  when we can and the forecasts are favourable, we prefer to hike on Fridays, especially along well frequented trails, like the low altitude circuit of Vitosha.

Yesterday was no exception - the trail was quiet and empty, with a fellow hiker here and there and without the weekend crowd. Unlike the previous week, the weather was sunny, but with clouds and chilly winds, so we had our sweaters on most of the time.

One of Simeonovo lakes - there are several of these, forming a cascade along the river

Hike info:

Date: 09 May 2025

Destination: Dragalevski Monastery

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 13 km

Elevation gain: 310 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 4 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

The beech forests on Vitosha are simply marvelous in May, when they are just covered in fresh greenery.

The Aleko waterfalls - the highest point of the trail, literally but also figuratively

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda blous, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Central Park cardigan

The picnic area near Dragalevski monastery, where we had our well deserved delicious lunch. A wood nuthatch flew casually on the neighboring table during our picnic :)

After the lunch break, we took a short walk around the grounds of the monastery

And the Aleko waterfalls again, on the way back, this time from the other side