Easter Hike on Planinitza 2025

After a couple of coldish and rainy days, Easter came sunny and warm, perfect for a long hike. As is our tradition for Easter and Christmas, husband, Gaby and I packed our backpack and spent the holiday in the open air among the green fields and hills of the mountain.

To our surprise and delight the day was even warmer and sunnier than expected and we had a perfect hike on Cherna Gora, starting from the village of Planinitza.

The spring flowers and the wild trees were in bloom and the air felt very fresh and fragrant.

Hike info:

Date: 20 April 2025

Destination: peak Tumba (1129 m)

Mountain: Cherna Gora

Total length: 14 km

Elevation gain: 230 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

I:  lingerie, Burda blouse, Houndstooth Burda hoodie in the backpack

Husband: men's boxershorts, Burda cargo pants, Burda T-shirt, Burda hoodie in the backpack

We had a delicious picnic on the peak, enjoying our snacks with colored eggs and sweet Easter bread (kozunak).

And back along the same track to the car, which we had parked at the end of the village.

The weather was perfect, Gaby hiked with us and the whole family gathered in the evening for a delicious family dinner and all was right with the world :)

Planinitza 2024

The trail from the village of Planinitza to peak Tumba in Cherna gora mountain is one of our most favourite routes for mid-spring and autumn. Last year, however, we hiked it in December on a cold and cloudy day and it wasn't the best of hikes. This year we chose a sunny and warm October work day and it was glorious!

Because this trail is very unpopular, it was not a surprising, that we didn't meet anyone during the almost 5 hours we spent in the mountain. The tracks from Giginski monastery are fairly often frequented on weekends, but yesterday there wasn't a single soul besides us, roaming the trails of Cherna gora.

The delicious summer berries are long gone, but the mountain was abundant with autumn harvest of all kinds, like parasol mushrooms. We did actually consider picking some, but since we are not mushroom experts, in the end we decided not to risk it.

There were also plenty of wild apples and pears, which are actually absolutely non-edible - not poisonous, of course, but sour and astringent. 

Hike info:

Date: 18 October 2024

Destination: peak Tumba (1129 m)

Mountain: Cherna Gora

Total length: 14 km

Elevation gain: 230 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 hours 40 min

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

We did snack however on sloes, which were surprisingly sweet and less acerbic than is typical for this berry, and also hawthorn and dogwood berries. There's always some peculiar feeling of satisfaction, when one can eat fruit directly from the tree, even when the fruit is just some sour, slightly astringent berry :)

On the peak - we had a very long picnic there, enjoying the views and most of all - the warm sun. These warm autumn days are counted and one must make the most of them, while they last!

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims III, Burda blouse, Central Park knitted hoodie

And back along the same tracks, alternating here and there just for the fun of it

It was a perfect day and absolutely worth the long drive!

Gigintzi 2024

Our first hike for 2024 comes a bit late in the month. The weather around Christmas and the New Year was very nice and mild for winter, but unfortunately, we caught a flu (or other) virus and first I, then the boys were under the weather. It was nothing dramatic, some temperature, muscle pains and all the other extras of cold weather viruses, that persist to linger long after the virus has been taken care of.

The silver lining of this particular cloud was, that I had two afternoons of lying propped on the sofa and reading the latest Booker winner - Timeshelter by the Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov - an excellent read, which I would heartily recommend to everyone.

As we got more or less back to normal and the weather last Friday was forecast to be the last warm and sunny day in weeks to come, we decided to roam the hills of Cherna Gora mountain. We drove to the village of Gigintzi, left the car on the completely empty parking lot of Giginski monastery and took the path to the summit of the mountain - peak Tumba.

The path was snowless, though muddy at places, perfect for a winter hike. The weather around noon was very sunny and pleasant, though a bit windy.

Hike info:

Destination: peak Tumba (1129 m)

Mountain: Cherna Gora

Total length: 11 km

Elevation gain: 150 m twice (980m - 1129 m - 980m - 1118m - 980m)

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 hours and a half

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Knipmode Cargo pants, Knipmode blouse, socks, hat, shawl in the backpack

I: lingerie, Sinclair Lotte hoodie, socks, hat, gloves, shawl in the backpack (used at some point)

As it took us less than an hour to climb the peak, we decided to continue down the path west, to the hunter's lodge. This path is so pleasant, open field and with great views to the mountains of Kraishte, that it is completely worth the hour and a half drive to Gigintzi.

The hunter's lodge. It is downhill from from the peak to the lodge, so this hike is a bit of a mixed bag of up and downhill all the way. We decided not to have our picnic around the lodge, but to turn back and have a lunch on one of the meadows we had passed on the way down.

Back uphill. While we were having our picnic, some clouds gathered above us and the temperatures dropped a bit. Late in the evening, the winter was back and now it is cold again and the streets are covered with snow and ice. I am really glad we took advantage of the perfect Friday we had.

Back to the monastery and the car.

We had never visited the place on a work day and it was so unusually empty! The monastery is big and well loved and full of crowds on weekends, but this Friday it was only us there.

We took a turn around the grounds and delighted with our hike drove back to Sofia.

Planinitza 2023

Our first snow hike this winter. The trail from the village of Planinitza to peak Tumba and back is one of our favourite December destinations. Cherna gora is a low mountain, the trail is easy and in the open and runs by fields and up and down small hills, with pleasant views to other mountains around. Because it is in the open and fairly level, it is extremely pleasant on a warm and sunny December day. And today was supposed to be one of these days.

Well, it wasn't. The temperatures were actually quite OK, especially considering that it was cloudy. However, the plentiful snow that fell last weekend had only partially melted and the trail was extremely muddy and wet, with patches of deep snow here and there. It was difficult to walk, some of the puddles of muddy water were like small lakes, blocking the entire trail, with thick thorny bushes at the sides.

The ceiling of thick clouds above us made me realize, that the reason I love this trail so much is the sun. We've always come here on sunny December days and walked along dry paths and this is what makes it a lovely destination. Unfortunately, after the extremely long and super pleasant autumn, winter is making its way through with lots of snow, cold and clouds. I can take the snow and the cold, but I want the sun back, please.

 

We watched a very interesting phenomenon during the entire hike - the sky to the east was yellow-reddish, like during sunset or sunrise, only it was around noon and the sun was actually above us. I suppose it is some kind of refraction of the sunlight into the thick clouds above us, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it was beautiful and unusual.

Hike info:

Destination: peak Tumba (1129 m)

Mountain: Cherna Gora

Total length: 14.5 km

Elevation gain: 230 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 hours

Average difficulty: 4 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, hat, Cargo pants, socks

I:  lingerie, hat, gloves, "Page" Burda hoodie

The mountains of Kraishte to the west

The summit of Cherna Gora, peak Tumba

We had our quick lunch on a patch of dry grass near the peak and in short order packed back our backpacks and returned to Planinitza, trying to choose alternative paths with less muddy puddles :)

We'll probably return to Planinitza next December, I hope it will be drier and sunnier then.