Vazov's Hiking Trail

It's been years since husband and I visited Vasov's Hiking Trail near the village of Bov. The trail runs along the Skaklya river up to the top of the rocks, to the start of the Bovska Skaklya waterfalls.

When we last visited the place, we were still not in the habit of using Orux maps or similar hiking apps and hadn't realized, that the trail continues through the village of Zasele and down the rocks back to Bov railway station.

Yesterday was a cloudy day with mild November temperatures and husband and i decided to embark on a train journey to Bov railway station and to examine the entire circular hiking trail.  

The place had a quiet late autumn beauty, with overcast skies, mostly bare trees and paths, covered with wet brown leaves. Despite the weekend and the overall popularity of the trail, the place was almost empty and we enjoyed our climb in solitary companionship.

Hike info:

Date: 09 November 2025 

Destination: circular trail Bovska Skaklya

Mountain: the Balkans

Total length: 16.8 km

Elevation gain: 510 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 4 hours 30 min

Average difficulty: 4 / 10

As expected in late autumn, the waterfall was scarce, flowing in a threadbare ribbon, in quiet contrast to its spring frenzy.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda longsleeve

I:  lingerie, Sinclair hoodie

The Skaklya rock crown near the village of Zasele

The end of the trail at the village of Zasele and a bridge, running over the Skaklya river

The start of the waterfall. From here the Skaklya river throws itself down the rocks on its way to the mighty Iskar river

The Balkan mountains and the gorge of the Iskar river

The village of Zasele and a war memorial

The circular trail continues through the village, gradually climbing down the other side of the rock crown

On peak Kokalan (814 m). We took a detour from the trail to check this "peak", which turned out to be a small meadow with a beautiful large crowned tree

And back to the start of the trail and the Iskar river. It was a great hike and we'll definitely come back to Bov next year.

Easter Picnic at Bovska Skaklya Waterfalls

After a week of cold and rainy days, this Sunday was a gorgeous sunny April day and it also happened to be the Orthodox Easter. The whole family decided to celebrate it in the open with a hike in the Balkan mountains along the trail to one of the beautiful waterfalls in the Iskar gorge - Skaklya waterfalls. We traveled to the village of Bov by train and then climbed the steep trail up along the river Skaklya to the beginning of the waterfalls.

: To our surprise, spring  in the Iskar gorge had obviously arrived here earlier than in Sofia. The meadows were green, the dogwood in full bloom

:The river Skaklya was full after the snow-melt

:The photos don't capture even a fraction of the beauty of this place in real life

:The Balkan mountains

: The beginning of the waterfall (85 m high)

: The scattered houses of the village of Bov on the other side of the gorge

: On top of the hill

: The beginning of the waterfall

: Our picnic place, where we ate our painted eggs and Easter breads, made by Gaby and me

:And back down the trail to the railway station

: Dogwood, covered with martenitzi