Bulgarian Adventures

I am leaving the mountains tomorrow and going to the sea. Will post pictures when I get home It is an amazing trip so far.



Cheers!

 

The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand if I am not wrong. Indeed the scenery has some similarities with the high mountain here - 2000 and more meters above sea level.
At lower altitude it is so full of trees here, awesome forests, at least where illegal logging is not happening

 

It's like the same place!

 

Pictures from the hike from hut Vihren to hut Sinanitsa - with the lake and peak with the same name.
Incredible view, the pics just do not show how beautiful it was! The hut on the lake, under the peak - simply incredible.
10 and half hours until we were back at hut Vihren - quite a walk at the steep terrain.

We arrived late in the afternoon at the first day and only went to make a tea on a nearby lake (the Eye)













On the next day, early in the morning we headed to Sinanitsa





Murat Lake





















You can see lake Sinanitsa and the hut



Peak Sinanitsa



More to come!

 

Stunning

















Near the top





Finally there









Back at hut Vihren - the awesome cat Gunther! He is 13 and in perfect shape



More to come!

 

On the next day, early in the morning, we went to peak Musala - 2925 meters above sea level, highest place in Bulgaria and on the Balkans. There is a Gondola Lift from the ski resort Borovets to hut Yastrebets - from there you go to the peak, it saves around 4-5 hours of climbing.

Of course - we went for the lift

It was an easy hike - 3 hours to the top, 2 hours back to the lift.






The old hut - 2389 meters above sea level



The new one



Lower Musala Lake











Another smaller hut - like a permanent tourist shelter - the Icy Lake - on our way to the top - 2720 meters above the sea





The Icy Lake





The winter marking - steel poles with ropes, we used them instead of the regular summer trail - it is steeper, but on the rocks it is faster and more fun











At the peak



There is a weather station there, nothing else - you can have a cup of tea in it. The guys that work there should feel great when all the tourists are gone and they can get out - the whole peak is for them. Being all alone on the highest place on the peninsula - this would be cool.

More to come!

 

The last day - going to the 7 Rila Lakes.

Again there is a lift to the hut below the lakes - saves around 4 hours of climbing. The hike was 3 hours to the last lake and 2 hours to the lift. I have been at the lakes before, also before there was a gondola lift - I really like that place.







































Awesome stone hut



More pics to come!

 

The hut is incredible, so beautiful - it is being renovated and should work next year - I got the guy's phone number, so I can go there once it opens.













Great 4 days in the mountains.
Musala and the lakes were great, but due to the lifts there are so many people, which I don't like - the energy and spirit of nature goes away, but when money is involved, nature always suffers.

Pirin was wild, on the hike to Sinanitsa we saw 3-4 people - this is much better for me.

I have planned one more peak for September, I hope the weather will be fine.

 

Thank you!
This is the peak that I have planned for the middle of September - Malyovitsa - 2729 meters above the sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malyovitsa

I hope it won't be the last one for the year.

 

Thanks mate! I could live all summer in that stone hut, why not stay there in the winter too.

 

I am working night shifts currently and this morning after work I went to clear my head with a short hike.
Quite a cardio - 50 min up and 20 min down. Steep!
This is located 20 min with car, from the town I live. I like that place, it feels right



The sign says "Keep Bulgaria clean"















Also the cat we feed at my parents house brought her baby (1 month old), so we have a new pet

 

Wow, what a beautiful area, thanks for sharing.

 

A stunning view from on top of that hill! Reminds me of the western US. Very rocky and mountainous like that, a good place to find a rattlesnake too. . Do you have venomous snakes there?

 

Thank you all!

Anrkst - luckily we have only two species, which are not that dangerous for an adult, but would still require medical care if they bite you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_ammodytes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_berus

There is very little here that can kill you in the woods, bear encounters are rare (no more than 1000 bears in the whole country), wolves avoid you always and probably one of the more dangerous animals is the wild boar, as they can be aggressive and huge - over 240 kg.