Bistritza - Aleko 2026

This Friday husband and I decided to repeat a hike we did last year, from the village of Bistritza to Aleko hut and back along an alternative trail. Last year we came upon raspberry shrubs, heavy with ripe fruit and ended picking up some raspberries for a few jars of home-made jam. The raspberry harvest then was accidental, this time we were prepared - but others had beat us to the berries.

The path from Bistritza to Aleko, following the Bistritza River, climbs gradually from the village into the dense forests of Vitosha.

The route is scenic and shady, with several wooden bridges and resting spots as you make the steady gain in elevation up toward the high mountain area.

Hike info:

Date:  21 August 2026

Destination: Aleko Hut, round trail

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 17 km

Elevation gain: 790 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 8 hours, with raspberry picking

Average difficulty: 6 / 10 

Although the raspberry shrubs had been heavily trodden upon and picked before us, we spent almost three hours slowly climbing, eating and gathering ripe berries, with a short power snack rest in between. 

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxer shorts, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Burda color jeans, Shkatulka top

Finally, almost five hours later, we were near Aleko hut.

We decided to pass by Aleko hut and have our lunch slightly above. We've stopped by the hut many times, but on such a hot and sunny day we preferred to find a shade in the trees, with a clear panoramic view to Sofia value, so we climbed up a bit along the "Wall" and had our tortillas and well deserved beers (it was 15:00 o'clock already) on a nice spot with a deep shadow, cast by a big pine tree.

A stone monument of Pavel Romanski, a young pioneer skier who tragically perished in a blizzard on Vitosha in 1931. Sculpted by Ivan Funev, the full-length statue of Romanski, holding his skis, served as an impetus for the creation of Bulgaria’s Mountain Rescue Service. 

We descended along the trail by the Yanchovska River, which is a peaceful alternative back to the village, passing near the edge of the Bistrishko Branishte biosphere reserve.

The trail winds through deep coniferous and beech woods alongside the rushing stream and under the soft light of the late afternoon sun I think I liked it even better than the more popular Bistritza river trail.

The trail leads back to the lower outskirts of Bistritza and connects with the low altitude Vitosha circuit. The final stretch of the hike was along the level track between Bistritza and Simeonovo - such a relief for the tired legs. 

And the sweet reward for our efforts - a dozen of jars of heavenly aromatic raspberry jam and what could go better with my Duolingo lessons this morning, but coffee and pancake with raspberry jam.

Bistritza - Zeleznitza on a Sunny December Day

Today was a gorgeous sunny December day with very pleasant winter temperatures. We had a few ideas for winter hikes in mind and in the end decided on Bistritza, as the closest to home. And it turned out to be the perfect decision for this time of the year - the super easy trail between the two mountainous villages is very popular and can be boring on a summer day, but in winter on a work day there were only a dozen or less hikers, the forest was very quiet and tranquil under the low December sun and the overall hike left us with the impression, that December is the best time to hike here.

Although the trail runs through the forest, the bare branches of the trees let the sunshine through and the ambient temperature was surprisingly comfortable.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, knitted socks, Burda cargo pants, Knipmode sweater

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

Hike info:

Date:  19 December 2025

Destination: low altitude circuit trail Bistritza - Zeleznitza and back

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12.5 km

Elevation gain: 80 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 hours 20 min

Average difficulty: 2 / 10

We had our tortillas and hot herbal tea on a sunny bench by the river, basking in the sun - it was a bliss!

And back along the same trail, feeling very satisfied and quite mellow :)

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 :)

Bistritza - Zeleznitza 2025

The low altitude circuit trail on Vitosha is at its prime at the end of May and June, when it is in full green mode, with lots of flowers and blooming trees. We love to frequent various parts of it at this time of the year, today we chose the most popular of them all, only some 30 min by car from home - the section between the villages of Bistritza and Zeleznitza and back.

Unlike previous rainy years, June is warm and sunny this year, with just a touch of chill in the air in the low parts of the mountain.

Today we seem to have happened upon the very time of blooming of the elder trees, so the air along the trail was amazingly fragrant. We gathered a bunch of elder flowers and I'm making an elder lemonade right now.

Hike info:

Date:  13 June 2025

Destination: low altitude circuit trail Bistritza - Zeleznitza and back

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12.5 km

Elevation gain: 80 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 2 / 10

The picnic area around the Selska river above Zeleznitza was packed with children on a school trip, enjoying the simple delights of playing in its shallow waters :)

We found a quieter place up along the river, where we had our delicious picnic.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda t-shirt

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims I, Burda blouse

And back along the same track - one of the disadvantages of the low altitude circuit is, that the hikes are usually to and fro, unless they are combined with some climbing and descending, or involve the use of  public transportation. But the trail is so lovely and easy, that walking it in both directions was a delight, not a chore.

An interesting beetle on the path - Morimus funereus, long-horn beetle, буков сечко.