Your three days in Sofia do not necessarily have to be spent entirely in sightseeing around the city. Mount Vitosha, which lies at Sofia’s outskirts and creates its unique landscape, can add a taste of nature to your trip and let you experience the true spirit of Bulgaria’s capital – the way the locals did more than a century ago.

Certainly, you can have three full days in Sofia, as there is more than enough to see and do in the city itself. Even in its gloomiest times in the late 1980s Bill Bryson found it the “most European of all cities,” and a Europe he “had dreamed of as a child". Although part of the European authenticity he saw here is now gone and Sofia can no longer be called a place that had “thoroughly resisted the blandishment of American culture,” here you can still witness the poor and shabby, but also the colorful lifestyle of old Central Europe, which is quickly disappearing in Prague, Warsaw or Budapest.

Cobblestone side streets off the main boulevards, badly lit at night; grey, often dilapidated and yet elegant houses; plain new houses; people, squeezing between cars parked on the walkways: a curious mixture of yuppies, old-school bureaucrats, nouveaux riches and clochards; stray dogs; piles of garbage; little shabby all-in-one shops; spacious sparkling fashion boutiques; gloomy restaurants, filled with cigarette smoke and intense garlic aroma; ill-kept gardens; smart tea houses and trendy bistros.

Add to this all the landmarks and museums of Sofia, and you can get yourself anything from a melancholic journey through old Europe to an enjoyable and cheap wining and dining adventure.

But as the classic Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov would say, better “leave your soft bedding, come out of the smoky cafés, the dusty streets, leave for a few days the city and come here, at this height of 2,500 metres, feel at least for a short time one real pure delight and you shall be transformed, you shall become better, healthier, more balanced, more cheerful.”

A hundred and thirty years ago his words inspired a move that nobody thought possible: 400 Bulgarians climbed Vitosha in the early hours of July 27, 1895, to watch the sunrise from its highest peak, Cherni Vrah (2,290 metres). In this way they marked the first organised tourist event in the history of the Balkans.

“To make them come, I had to tell them that the adventure is only for EXPERIENCED tourists”, Konstantinov wrote, sardonically, after the event, referring to Bulgarians’ tendency to show off. Nevertheless he was flabbergasted by the effect of his invitation, published in a local paper. His article on the following day was called “Incredible but true!



He described the events of that night as a “majestic” affair: “That exalted fantastical rush toward the skies, through thousands of obstacles, that vehement climb onto bushes, onto rocks, of tens of electrified groups, the flying flag – brought along for the purpose, the sounds of a military horn among the burning fires here and there, that fantastical picture, enchantingly lighted by the full moon…”

Although Konstantinov’s zeal may evoke smiles today, the events of that night must have looked impressive at the end of the nineteenth century, when Sofia was inhabited only by some 60,000 people and mass tourism was an unknown phenomenon.

What’s more, for many Sofianites this public celebration of Vitosha marked the beginning of a new culture, an urge to remain closer to nature as their town expanded. It changed the lifestyle of many generations, and nowadays, the people who consider themselves true Sofianites proudly tell about their lifetime love for trekking through the mountain.

The thing is, it is difficult not to love Vitosha after you get to know it. The mountain park, only 30 minutes away from Sofia’s centre, spreads over 260 square kilometres, and offers superb views over Sofia, challenging ski slopes and rare beauties, amongst which Vitosha’s famous stone rivers, woods of century-old trees and a unique, 1,500 year-old peat reserve – a habitat of over 300 kinds of mosses and 500 sorts of weeds.

The outskirts of the mountain host several remarkable architectural monuments, including the twelfth-century Boyana Church and Dragalevski Monastery. Surrounding them are also several of the most valued residential areas of Sofia – Boyana, Dragalevtsi and Simeonovo, as well as Vladaya at the south of the mountain.

Vitosha’s peaks are easily accessible by car or public transportation, and then by the several lifts, which approach from different sides. Riding the lifts offers amazing views over Sofia - they will either surprise you with their beauty or with the colour of the air over Bulgaria's capital. Skiing in the winter, trekking throughout the year, or just taking short strolls around the end stops of the lifts can make for very enjoyable experiences.

Vitosha's ski slopes are predominantly marked ‘blue’ and ‘red’, meaning medium and difficult, with only one really challenging stretch, marked in black, and a single but relatively long one in green, meaning easy.



Tracking routes are aslo well developed, the first one dating from 1901. In the last decade the mountain was included in the E-4 European route from the Perinei in Spain via the Alps and the Bulgarian Rila Mountain to the Peloponnesus in Greece.

One of the most popular destinations for walks is Zlatnite mostove, the Golden Bridges, where many people start their hike along the impressive round rocks of the stone rivers. Bulgarians call these stones moreni – the name that is also used in reference to the glaciers in the Andes. However, newer scientific research proved that the origin of these rock rivers was different – here the rocks were rounded by the winds and water, passing underneath.

The surreal, monumental appearance of the moreni does have the effect that Aleko described: “There the passions and anxieties die down, there the soul calms down and a mute contemplation fills your heart with bliss.” And though there are melancholy traces in the landscape, many Sofianites managed to overcome them – you could often see them having long and joyous picnics along the stone rivers.

To them, and to anyone who spends some time in the mountain, Sofia is unimaginable without Vitosha. That is their “two in one” gift from fate. Especially in the late autumn and winter days, when the city’s grayness comes crashing down and suffocates, it is the proximity of the mountain’s sunny slopes that makes city life bearable.

Practicalities

For the winter season the best is the Simeonovo cable-car lift. Its first station is visible from the ring road, between the Simeonovsko and Bistishko roads. During the skiing period, usually from December to April, you may encounter quite long queues here, so the best is to go early in the morning, especially on weekends. For the rest of the time the wait to get on the lift should be no more than 15 minutes.

If you are particular about your food, better take some with you. But if you are not too demanding, you will be able to find something for a quick bite or even a more extensive meal.

The two tourist centres on the mountain are Aleko (named after Aleko Konstantinov) and Zlatnite mostove (the Golden Bridges). In their vicinity, as well as near the lift platforms, you will find numerous stalls and shops selling sweets, nuts, sandwiches, tea, and sometimes warm and more solid meals.

Over 100 chalets are scattered mostly around Vitosha's northern slopes towards Sofia, and there you can often find basic food and bed.

The skiing routes are also built around the two centers.

For trekking you can start from Bistritsa or Boyana in the outskirts, or from the lift stops at Bay Krustyo (the intermediate station of the Simeonovo lift), Zlatnite mostove or even at Cherni vruh. The routes are well signposted and last between 3 and 5 hours each. Here are some interesting routes and their approximate duration:

• Bistrica village - Samokovishteto- Goliamata gramada- Mecha poliana- Aleko chalet: 4 hours

• Boiana village - Boyanski waterfall - Momina skala chalet- Zlatnite mostove: 3:00 hours

• Bay Krastyo- Kikish shelter - Momina skala chalet- Zlatnite mostove- Vladaya village: 3:30 hours

• Bay Krastyo- Kominite peak - the Plateau: 1:20 hours (there is a danger of avalanches on this route during the winter and the early spring)

• Zlatnite mostove- Kumata chalet - Konyarnika- Cherni vryh: 3:20 hours

• Zlatnite mostove – Edelvays chalet – Ostrica chalet – Selimica chalet – Kladnica village: 3:40 hours

• Kladnica village – Selimica chalet - Dain kladenec - Mecha cheshma – Chuypetlovo village: 4:00 hours

• Kladnica village – Matnica river - Sharev rid peak - Zhivata voda spring – Bosnek village: 5:00 hours

• Cherni vryh- Chernoto plato- Siva Gramada peak – Iarlovo village: 4:30 hours

source: http://www.vitoshamount.hit.bg/travel.htm