Tag: Bistritsa

Posted on in Vitosha

Yarlovo – Golemiya Rid Peak – Yarlovo

Starting Coordinates: 42.46882, 23.27801

Distance: 13.2 km

Elevation Gain: 405 m

Time: 4½ hours

Difficulty: moderate-hard

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 69 just past Zheleznitsa (this still leaves a significant distance)

  • The turning right to Yarlovo in Kovachevtsi.
  • The main square in Yarlovo.
  • The street heading north-west in the direction of Cherni Vrah via Golemiya Rid.
  • The track as it crosses the river Palakaria.
  • The track now continues on the west bank of the Palakaria.
  • After fifteen minutes, the path divides. Go left here.
  • The path through the forest.
  • At post 158, go right in the direction of Cherni Vrah.
  • After twenty minutes, the path divides. Go left here.
  • View north from Golemiya Rid of Cherni Vrah and Yarlovski Kupen.
  • View south of Yarlovo and Rila in the distance.
  • Half an hour after the peak, you will come to a crossroads. Go straight in the direction of Klisura.
  • The view back towards Cherni Vrah and Yarlovski Kupen.
  • At the T-junction, go left to return to Yarlovo.
  • The tarmacked road back to Yarlovo.
  • The village as it appears.
  • Where we were welcomed by some donkeys.
  • The bridge over the river Palakaria.
  • The river Palakaria in Yarlovo.

Yarlovo is the other most distant village you can reach on the south side of Vitosha, together with Chuypetlovo, the difference being that you come at them from different directions. To reach Chuypetlovo, you go west around the mountain. To reach Yarlovo, you go east, via Bistritsa and Zheleznitsa. The two villages are actually in adjoining valleys – Chuypetlovo in the Struma valley, Yarlovo in the Palakaria valley – so visiting both villages is like putting your arms around the mountain from both sides, a fitting way to bring this book to a conclusion.

Yarlovo is again about fifty kilometres from central Sofia, an hour’s drive. You pass through Bistritsa, Zheleznitsa, the villa zone known as Yarema, until you reach Kovachevtsi. From Bistritsa to Kovachevtsi is 22 kilometres. Shortly after entering Kovachevtsi, there is a turning on the right for Yarlovo, 5 km. The furthest you can get with public transport is bus no. 69, which takes you just past Zheleznitsa, but that still leaves a significant distance to Yarlovo (about 17 km).

On entering Yarlovo, the road veers to the right, goes past a playground on the right and then heads left into the main square, where there is a Church of St Nedelya, the town hall, a post office and various amenities. Park here. This walk will take you along the course of the Palakaria, up onto the ridge between Yarlovo and Chuypetlovo to the peak Golemiya Rid (with wonderful views north to Cherni Vrah and south to Rila) and back around to Yarlovo. So you leave the main square in the north-west corner and return via the south-west corner.

Take the street that leaves the square in the north-west corner (to the west of the church). It is signposted for Smilyo shelter, Chuypetlovo village and Cherni Vrah via Golemiya Rid. The river Palakaria is flowing on your left. You will pass two bridges going over the river on your left, but just keep going on this street. In half an hour, after the tarmac ends and the road turns into a dirt track, it crosses the river, where there is a pretty waterfall. On the other side of the river, the track begins to climb and turns right (left will take you back into Yarlovo). In fifteen minutes, you will cross a small tributary of the Palakaria, and immediately the path divides. Right will take you along the course of the river. You want to go left, up the mountain. Now stay on this path (with the black and yellow posts), ignore the turning on the left that appears immediately. The path divides and then comes back together (it doesn’t matter which branch you take) and in little more than ten minutes it emerges into the open.

Another ten minutes, and you will reach post number 158. A path on the left will take you to Smilyo, Chuypetlovo and Bosnek. Go right here, in the direction of Cherni Vrah. You will pass a farm outbuilding on the left and then a small house. Follow this path for twenty minutes. It then divides. The right branch will continue taking you in the direction of Cherni Vrah, the summit, but we are going to go left here, in the direction of Golemiya Rid peak. 200 metres after this left turning, there is a path through the grass on the left. In ten minutes (500 metres), this path will take you to the peak, which is a good place to stop for rest and refreshment. Halfway there, a path diverges on the left – ignore it, and in no time at all you will be at the peak. North of here is Cherni Vrah. To the right of Cherni Vrah is Yarlovski Kupen, the main peak at the head of the Palakaria valley. North-west is the village of Chuypetlovo, which featured in our previous walk. And south-east is Yarlovo and the mysterious peaks of Rila, the highest point in the Balkans, in the distance.

Once you have had time to enjoy the views, return to the path you were on and continue left. In about twenty minutes, you will reach a clear crossroads with a picnic area on the right. The left branch will take you to post number 158 and the farm outbuilding, from where you can return directly to Yarlovo. The right branch takes you down to the road just before Chuypetlovo. Keep straight, in the direction of Klisura village. After a hundred metres, ignore the turnings on the right and stay on the path you are on. In half an hour, it divides (the right branch goes to a “cheshma” or fountain). Keep left here, and in five minutes you will come to a T-junction. The right branch goes to Klisura. You want to head left, back to Yarlovo three kilometres away. The road is now tarmacked.

When you reach the first houses in Yarlovo, there is a dirt track on the right, which soon becomes tarmacked as it enters the village, running alongside the river Palakaria on your left. After ten minutes (800 metres), cross the bridge on your left and in five minutes you will enter the main square from the south-west.

Please note: it is easily possible to shorten this walk in two ways. The first is to take the left turning at post 158 and to walk in the direction of Chuypetlovo, not Cherni Vrah. This will omit the peak Golemiya Rid. When you get to the crossroads, take the left turning for Klisura village and continue as per the description. Alternatively, having climbed the peak, when you reach the crossroads, instead of continuing in the direction of Klisura village, turn left here for Yarlovo. You will return to post 158, where you can turn right and descend into the village the way you climbed up. Both options will reduce the walk by several kilometres.

A map of the walk in relation to the whole mountain, with the outskirts of Sofia visible in the top right-hand corner:

Posted on in Vitosha

Bistritsa – Samokovishteto – Bistritsa

Starting coordinates: 42.56902, 23.34232

Distance: 3.8 km

Elevation Gain: 130 m

Time: 2 hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Transport: by car, or by bus to Bistritsa Village

  • The centre of Bistritsa with grass on either side.
  • The turning for Stefan Stambolov Street, which will take you to the start of the walk.
  • After 2.6 kilometres, there is a parking area where you can leave your vehicle.
  • In another 300 metres, the street comes to an end.
  • The path on the right, which will take you to Samokovishteto Waterfall.
  • This path is actually the “low-altitude circular trail” that goes around the mountain.
  • After ten minutes, the trail is dissected by a path heading up and down the mountain. Go left.
  • The path begins to climb.
  • In some areas, fallen trees create clearings.
  • After twenty minutes, the waterfall can be seen on your right.
  • The water sliding down a large flat surface.
  • The pool on your left.
  • The bridge over the river with a picnic area on the other side.
  • Bistritsa River, one of the most beautiful rivers on Vitosha.
  • The path continues uphill in the direction of Aleko Hut.

Bistritsa Village is on the east side of Vitosha and can best be reached from the ring road. The three main districts on the north side of Vitosha, from west to east, are Boyana, Dragalevtsi, and Simeonovo. If you continue on the ring road past Simeonovo in an easterly direction, you come to Sofia Ring Mall and Ikea. Just before these is the turning that takes you to the start of the only lift that is still working on Vitosha, the Simeonovo-Aleko gondola lift. Immediately after Ikea is a roundabout. Turn right here and the road will take you uphill to Bistritsa. The road reaches a summit, where there are turnings left to Pancharevo and right to Simeonovo, and then descends into Bistritsa proper. After crossing Bistritsa River, you are in the centre, an open grassy area. The following buses – 69, 70, 98, 314 – will drop you here, at the stop marked “Selo Bistritsa”.

The mountain is on your right. You have just crossed Bistritsa River, which tumbles down the mountainside and eventually flows into Lake Pancharevo to the east. There are two walks that begin from Bistritsa – one to a small waterfall; the other to the village of Zheleznitsa. They both have the same starting point. To reach this point, you need to take the first turning on the right after the bus stop. This is Stefan Stambolov Street. There is a ProMarket grocery store on the corner. You follow this street for 2.9 kilometres. 700 metres from the centre, it crosses the river. Keep going uphill. After another kilometre, the road veers left – ignore the dead-end street in front of you. Having crossed back over the river, it then leaves the houses behind. There is a small car park on the left. Where it enters Vitosha Nature Park, ignore the turning on the right and keep going uphill. After another 400 metres, you come to a second car park on the left. This is a good place to park. If there are no places, you can park further up on the verge. Continue to where the road ends in another 300 metres.

You are now ready to start your walk. There are two paths, both of which form part of the “low-altitude circular trail”. Going left will take you to Zheleznitsa Village, a lovely walk with wonderful views. The walk to Samokovishteto Waterfall is much shorter, little more than half an hour, but the waterfall is so picturesque it is well the effort.

Take the path on the right. You will soon pass a hut on the right. In ten minutes, the low-altitude trail is dissected by a path heading up and down the mountain. Continue straight (signposted Simeonovo Lakes), and you will come to Yanchovska River, a tributary of Bistritsa River, which it joins in Bistritsa Village. Go right, and the path takes you back down to Bistritsa. You want to go left, in the direction of Aleko Hut and Cherni Vrah. The path climbs steadily through forest. You become aware of Bistritsa River chuntering along on your right. Ignore any side paths or shortcuts and stay on the marked trail. In little more than twenty minutes, you will reach Samokovishteto Waterfall.

The first thing you see is the white line of the river. There is then a beautiful cascade of water where the river slides down a large flat surface, almost as if it was at an aqua park. On your left is a pool under the steady gaze of a boulder. On your right is a bridge over the river which takes you to a picnic area with a couple of tables and an open shelter. Sit in the shelter and look through the glassless window. It’s almost like watching TV.

It is a lovely place to stop and enjoy the nature. The flow of the water is captivating. This walk can easily be extended by continuing in the direction of Aleko Hut or by returning to the low-altitude trail and continuing towards Simeonovo Lakes, though neither of these destinations is very near. Otherwise, having taken your fill, simply retrace your steps to the top of Stefan Stambolov Street and head back into Bistritsa.

NOTE: Instead of taking the low-altitude trail and then turning left to head up the mountain, it is possible to reach Samokovishteto by taking the turning on the right when you enter Vitosha Nature Park, 2.2 kilometres from the centre. You then simply head uphill until you reach the waterfall, crossing the low-altitude trail at some point. This will shorten the walk from the centre of Bistritsa Village if you are on foot.

This map shows the walk in relation to the top of the mountain above (Aleko Hut on the right, the radar station on the left) and to Bistritsa Village below. You can also see the line of the Simeonovo-Aleko gondola lift.
A short film of Samokovishteto Waterfall on Bistritsa River.