Kokalyane 2026

Winter this year has been a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve swung between brutal, snowy cold and milder days when the city slush finally begins to melt. Last weekend was all cold and wet and we stayed hunkered down by the radiator, enjoying the warmth of the central heating and our other hobbies. 

This week there's some warming up, it's peak was yesterday and a new significant drop in temperatures is expected in the coming days. So today was somewhere in-between - mostly cloudy and not very warm, but with almost no wind and still positive temperatures.

For our weekly hike we chose a place near to home - Kokalyane, a perfect choice for our modest city car. Since the trailhead sits right off the main road between Sofia and Samokov, we didn't have to worry about navigating treacherous, snowy mountain passes.

The climb from the Devil's bridge to Kokalyane monastery is steep, but apart from a few meters of ice coating the bridge itself, it was fairly dry and easy to navigate. 

Hike info:

Date: 16 January 2026 

Destination: Kokalyane Monastery and up the ridge  (1060 m) round trail

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 7.5 km

Elevation gain: 430 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 h

Average difficulty: 3 / 10 

Choosing to skip the monastery church this time, we pressed upward, following the broad trail toward the mountain ridge.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, orange hat, Burda longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants, socks, scarf

I: lingerie, Plantain brick blouse, Burda "Page" hoodie, socks, hat, gloves, snood

As the elevation increased, the dry leaves and earth on the trail gave way to a messy cocktail of mud, snow and ice, which turned the climbing into a real workout and made us definitely earn our lunch :)

Up on the ridge, the world was covered in a blanket of melting snow. We headed straight for a spot we discovered last year: a brick wall at the edge of a meadow.

The ground was wet, but the mossy wall was dry and comfortable enough and we had a very nice time with our tortillas and warm herbal tea, enjoying the shy sun, which occasionally peeked through the clouds.

For the descent we decided to take a steep track down to the monastery, decreasing abruptly the elevation and with it - the presence of melting snow and ice. It was an adventurous gamble, because of the many fallen trees on the partially overgrown track, but an excellent choice, as it turned out in the end!

Back to the monastery from the side hill.

A glimpse towards Lozen and the excavations on Urvich on the hill across the river Iskar. 

All in all, a deeply satisfying winter trek. Kokalyane remains one of my favorite escapes for these 'indifferent' winter days when you just need to breathe some mountain air.

Kokalyane Bachun

Spring in March is a strange animal - look at the weather forecast for the week at the end of this post :) Today was summer - hot, though quite windy and husband and I had a perfect long hike in the Lozen mountain. We started from Kokalyane, gradually climbed through forests and peaks to peak Bachun and then back to Pancharevo and from there to Kokalyane by the Pancharevo lake - a total of 18 km.

The trees need probably just a week to get into their spring mode, but the spring flowers are already here and in abundance of colors and species.

A view to Sofia - the strong wind blew the smog away and the air over the city is finally clear after a season of thick smog and clouds.

Hike info:

Date: 15 March 2025

Destination: peak Bachun

Mountain: Lozen

Total length: 18 km

Elevation gain: 550 m

Total duration (plus rest): 5 h

Average difficulty: 4.5 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Red Burda blouse

I: lingerie, Burda blouse, Sabrina Slims II

On the peak - the winds on the ridge were so strong, that I had to clutch at my hat to prevent it from being blown away. Luckily our route was through the forest, so we could hear the wind in the tops of the trees, but were completely protected from its powers.

We had our picnic on a meadow on the lee side of the peak, with the first beer for the hiking season :)

Vitosha's snowy peaks in the distance

Pancharevo lake

The first tree in bloom we've seen this year, adorned with plenty of martenitzi.

The forecast for the coming week - summer today, rain on Monday, snow on Tuesday with -6 during the night on Wednesday, gradually back to spring towards Friday :)

Kokalyane 2025

The weather during the first week of February has been unusually sunny, however very cold. In all frankness, probably normal cold for February, but lately we've gradually come to expect winters to be much warmer and temperatures below and just a degree or so above zero nowadays seem to me too cold, though it is mid-winter.

For today's hike we chose a trail we've hiked only once before, from the village of Kokalyane to Kokalyane Monastery and up to the ridge of the mountain. The trail is fairly short, but steep and a good exercise. The beginning of the trail was covered with frozen snow and we had some worries that the climb could be problematic, but luckily, the trail itself was completely free of snow and ice and quite easy to hike.

Hike info:

Destination: Kokalyane Monastery  (1060 m) round trail

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 8 km

Elevation gain: 430 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 h

Average difficulty: 4 / 10

Only half an hour quick paced hiking brought us in front of the doors of Kokalyane Monastery. From what I understood, the grounds of the monastery are closed for the public and only the church was open.

We had a quick glimpse and continued up along a steep side track. Next time we plan to explore the wider track behind the monastery, which, a bit longer, according to the map leads to the same place on the ridge of the mountain.

Lozen and the skirts of Rila on the horizon.

We had our picnic on a sunny meadow and home-made olives bread with cream cheese and ham has never tasted so delicious!

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, orange hat, Burda longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants

I: lingerie, Burda blouse, hat, gloves, scarf

The return trail was barely noticeable through the oak forest, more like a spring water gutter than a path, with lots of fallen trees and not a single person in sight. We should try this trail sometime in spring or summer, as I'm sure it looks much prettier in its green outfit :)