Manastirishte September 2026

It is early autumn again and time anew for our favourite Manastirishte - one of those places, where we love to hike any time of the year, but early autumn makes it shine with its best attire.

Although the cold nip in the air, especially at night and early morning is already a constant, some September days are still summer hot and last Friday was one of these - sunny and hot, with a pleasant light breeze.

Peak Marchin Kamak (1241 m) - husband suggested a climb and here we are, taking a short detour from the trail to climb the small elevation.

A young doe, probably resting in the tall fern, jumped almost a couple of meters from us and ran away.

On Marchin Kamak

Hike info:

Date: 18 September 2026

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 10.5 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 and a half hours

Average difficulty: 2 / 10 

The place was absolutely bare - with another national holiday on Tuesday and the still summer temperatures, I suspect many people are still enjoying long weekends on the seaside in Greece and not roaming the local mountains.

Ripe pears - they were sweet and juicy, but very astringent and almost impossible to swallow

Peak Manastirishte - this time we took the direct steep trail to the top

Vitosha on the left

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse

I: lingerie, Burda Jeans, Burda raglan blouse 

We had our beers and tortillas at the picnic table on the peak - a lunch with a view and atmosphere

We saw a number of mantises - it must be their season 

After lunch we decided to explore a round trail we hadn't tried before, which goes all the way around the hill of the peak. The trail down we took was a bit too steep for my taste, next time we'll definitely make it different, but the round trail turned out to be totally worth it.

It passed mostly through forests and it the heat of the noon it was exactly the place we were disposed to appreciate most

And back on the main trail after a full circle around the peak. The detour added some 3 km to the hike and finally managed to make it a genuine hike, and not just a walk in the park, as it often feels. We are definitely adding this track to our staples.

Manastirishte February 2026

What a glorious day was today, after months of grey skies, rain, snow and cold. Finally some real sunny day, real comfortable temperatures and almost no cold wind, even on the mountain ridge - pure bliss!

A day like that deserved a hike along a favourite trail in the open - so it was Manastirishte again.

The latest snow in the city is almost gone, on Plana it was still present in scattered patches, but most of it had melted and the ground was very wet and muddy.

Hike info:

Date: 27 February 2026

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 9 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 hours 20 minutes

Average difficulty: 2 / 10 

 

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, knitted socks, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse, Burda hoodie

I: lingerie, knitted hat, knitted socks, Monte Rosa cardigan

The small lake - I'm almost certain, that this lake was just a puddle when we started hiking here ten years ago.

A lonely early crocus - in two-three weeks the fields under the peak will be covered in purple crocuses, spring is on the way!

Another puddle, which the spring melting has promoted into a lake

This time we opted to try a new approach to the peak - a took a roundabout trail, which lead us to a steep path, climbing to the ridge of the hill at a ridiculously abrupt angle. The slope must have been near 40 degrees, it was a short, but vigorous exercise.

The snow covered ridge of the mountain

There were almost no tourists today, for the entire duration of the hike we met only two other hikers.

My whole essence in a photo - the sun is shining, the gorgeous peaks of Rila are standing tall behind me and my soul is singing :)

We had our delicious lunch on the southern slopes of the peak, with a view to the village of Plana and the chain of snow covered peaks of Rila.

And back along the alternative trail, to close the circle. Very, very pleasant hike! I'm so happy the cold and dark winter is at its end and the sunny hiking days are awaiting us.

Family Christmas Hike on Manastirishte

A rare occasion in our hiking life: a family trek with both of our grown-up children.

While Christmas Day was cold and snowy, the following day brought sun and calm weather. We packed our bags and drove to the village of Plana, nestled at the foot of the Plana Mountains.

We weren't sure what state the trails would be in; though the snow in the city had melted quickly, it had held in the mountains. The landscape was a snowy fairy tale.

The tracks had been trodden by ATVs—muddy and disturbed in places—but they remained fairly easy to navigate.

Hike info:

Date: 26 December 2025

Destination: peak Manastirishte (1338 m)

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 8.5 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus picnic): about 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10 

 

The sun drifted in and out of the clouds and fog, but temperatures stayed comfortably above freezing. 

It was fascinating to see the fields and trees draped in fresh snow; I couldn't stop taking pictures of the scenery.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, knitted socks, Burda Cargo pants, Burda blouse, knitted hat

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

Gaby: lingerie, CC copycat hat

Alex: knitted hat 

 

Hiking with our children was such a joy, and three hours of trekking through the snow passed quickly in lively conversation.

Since everything was buried in white, finding a spot for a picnic was a challenge. Eventually, we found a cluster of large rocks along the trail. We cleared one off and enjoyed delicious tortillas and hot herbal tea, sitting there and marveling at the beauty of the mountain.