Chepun and Dragoman Marsh 2024

The warm, summer-like weather continued for almost a month till mid-April. Last Sunday on Chepun mountain it was true summer - hot and sunny, super unusual for this time of the year along the ridge of the low mountain. This is our fourth hike in this area and it was very much identical to the one we did three years ago. The track, starting from the marsh, has been completely abandoned and is not on the maps any more, so we followed the fairly short 4 km eco-trail up and down the peak.

:To our surprise, the eco-trail turned out to be very popular and we met a lot of people along the track

Hike info:

Date:  14 April 2024

Destination: Petrovski Cross (1206 m)

Mountain: Chepun

Total length: 10 km

Elevation gain: 400 m

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

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

A view to the town of Dragoman

A small chapel was built recently on top of the mountain at the end of the trail

Petrovski cross, probably a remnant from an old sanctuary

The peak of the mountain

The dwarf almond bushes were in full bloom

We continued out hike a bit along the ridge to the next high point. There is a trail, that goes further along the ridge and down to the next village, but then how does one get back to the car?

The Dragoman marsh from above. We had our picnic on a bench with a view to the marsh and the fields around

The wild lilacs were also in bloom

A view to the west and the border with Serbia

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

I: lingerie, Burda blouse,Knipmode flared pants

Husband: men's boxers, Knipmode cargo pants

After we went down the eco-trail, we drove to the Dragoman marsh and walked a bit around. The wetland is the home of many birds and other animals, we could hear some of them in the reeds, but none were visible.

Chepun and Dragoman Marsh 2021

 Last Saturday, after a spell of 10 days of truly hot weather, was a bit colder, cloudy and most of all - windy. And as much windy as it was in Sofia, in the mountains it was 1000 times worse, especially along the open ridge of Chepun mountain, where husband and I chose to have our hike. The mountain was green and with lots of interesting flowers in bloom and the views of numerous other mountains and green fields in sight, but the wind was brutal and punishing, especially on the top. Probably we should have chosen a more sheltered trail, but ...

The beginning of the trail - it is easy to follow and not very long, some 4 km in one direction. We've hiked Chepun before and the previous times we tried to make the hike circular, climbing the peak from the Dragoman marsh and descending along the marked trail along the ridge. However, the alternative trail from the marsh has been abandoned and is no longer usable, so this time we went up and dowm along the same trail.

The most notable endemic plants of this mountain - the wild almond bushes and the wild purple irises in bloom.

I've seen other wild irises on our mountains, but these purple irises are definitely the most beautiful

A view from the top towards the fields and the village of Dragoman

The Dragoman marsh, a protected wet area, a habitat of many birds

The wild lilac bushes, of which there was an entire mini forest, were just about to bloom

A view in the opposite direction, to the Balkans and probably some Serbian mountains - Dragoman is quite near the border with Serbia

On top of the mountain - peak Petrovski krust (1206 m)

After we descended from the peak, we went to the Dragoman marsh. A few years ago there were wooden paths and an observation tower, but in 2020 there was a big fire, which burnt 80% of the vegetation and the structures of the marsh.

These are the only remains of the paths for observation of the marsh that were once built here. However, unlike human-made structures, which have not been rebuilt, nature has almost completely recovered after the fire.

We walked a little around the marsh and though we could hear some of the birds, there was not much to be seen in the reeds.