Tag: Chernata Skala

Posted on in Vitosha

Goli Vrah – Ushite – Kamen Del Peak – Bor – Goli Vrah

Starting Coordinates: 42.59034, 23.29317

Distance: 11.0 km

Elevation Gain: 395 m

Time: 4½ hours

Difficulty: moderate-hard

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 66 to the last stop

  • The slip road to the top of the Dragalevtsi chair lift, Goli Vrah, 200 metres before the last stop on the 66 bus route.
  • The top of the chair lift.
  • The path right, marked by black and yellow posts, across the peat reserve.
  • The peat reserve, with Ushite and Chernata Skala in the distance.
  • The peat reserve.
  • The brightly coloured flowers.
  • The Ushite shelter.
  • Kamen Del peak.
  • The view of Sofia from Kamen Del peak.
  • As the path descends towards Bor, the TV tower at Kopitoto is visible.
  • In a short while, the path enters forest.
  • It passes a hut and a fountain.
  • Bor mountain hut (inactive).
  • Immediately after Bor mountain hut, there is a small bridge over Boyana River, a nice place to rest.
  • On the return, the views from the Ushite shelter towards the summit, Cherni Vrah, are spectacular.

Part of this walk is the same as for Kominite, along the plateau next to the top of the Dragalevtsi chair lift, Goli Vrah. It takes you all the way across the peat reserve and down to Bor mountain hut, which features in the walks Planinets and Zlatni Mostove. It offers the chance to climb a peak, Kamen Del, the peak which is most visible from the centre of Sofia, next to Ushite, and affords wonderful views of the city itself.

If you are travelling by public transport, you take bus no. 66 to the end of the line and then walk back 200 metres to the slip road to Goli Vrah. By car, you take the road up the mountain from Dragalevtsi village. From the cobbled square at the centre of Dragalevtsi, you take the road in the far corner and drive for 14.2 kilometres, past the turning for the “Vodenitsata” restaurant, past the car park behind Dragalevtsi Monastery, under the Dragalevtsi chair lift, past the middle station on the Dragalevtsi chair lift (Bay Krastyo), past the turning for the ski slope Vitoshko Lale, until you get to the slip road that takes you to the top of the chair lift, Goli Vrah. If you find yourself in Aleko, where the road ends, you have gone too far and need to drive back a short distance. The slip road is on the right, 200 metres before the final bus stop.

Many people use this slip road to access the summit, Cherni Vrah, instead of going to the summit from Aleko, which is nearer, because the slip road climbs more gradually whereas the climb from Aleko is very steep (there is a chair lift). The slip road takes you in five minutes past the top of the Dragalevtsi chair lift, Goli Vrah, and in another five minutes you come to the peat reserve on your right and a path marked with black and yellow posts. Turn right here (it is signposted for the Ushite shelter, “zaslon Ushite”) and follow the black and yellow posts for the next forty-five minutes. You will notice a slight springiness in your step because of the peat, it buoys you up. The views behind you to the summit, Cherni Vrah, right to Sofia, and straight ahead to Ushite (“The Ears”) with Chernata Skala (“Black Rock”) to the left of it are all wonderful. So is the sense that you are crossing a valuable piece of land, the peat reserve, full of grasses and brightly coloured flowers.

The path from the slip road starts at post number 30. In ten minutes (post 50), there is a path on the right going back to Goli Vrah. Keep going straight. In another ten minutes (post 64), there is a path on the right. Ignore it. In another ten minutes (post 89), there is a path going right to the Kominite Climbing Area. This features in the walk to Kominite. Keep going. In another ten minutes (post 108), you reach the Ushite shelter on your left, with Ushite behind it. Immediately after you have left the shelter behind, another peak, Kamen Del, becomes visible to your right, overlooking Sofia, a Bulgarian flag flying on top. This is a popular destination at weekends during summer.

The path you are on, with the black and yellow posts, will take you all the way to Bor mountain hut, but it is worth making a diversion to climb Kamen Del peak. So five minutes after the Ushite shelter (post 116), take the path on the right in the direction of the peak, which you will reach after ten minutes. Enjoy the fabulous views over Sofia! Lots of people stay here to admire the landscape, the valley with Sofia and the airport, Pancharevo (with the lake) and Bistritsa to the right, the Balkan mountain in the distance. If at this point you feel you have walked far enough, it is perfectly possible to turn around here and retrace your steps. Otherwise, come down from the peak, return to the path with the black and yellow posts (you can rejoin this path at post 121 instead of returning to post 116 by taking a path on the right as you come down from the peak).

Once you are back on the path with the black and yellow posts, it will begin to descend and soon it will enter forest. Forty minutes after Kamen Del peak, you pass a hut and a fountain on the left. Immediately after this hut and fountain, the path forks. Keep left, join the tarmac road and in five minutes you will be at Bor mountain hut, which is not active. If you keep going straight, after the mountain hut, you will immediately come to a small bridge over Boyana River, which is a lovely place to sit and rest. In the not so distant future, this small river will become Boyana Waterfall, but that’s still in the future.

Then simply return the way you came, taking the same path (signposted for Platoto and Aleko Hut). On the way back, when you emerge from the forest after half an hour, the path divides. It doesn’t matter which fork you take since they have the same destination, but I usually follow the fork with the black and yellow post next to it. That way, I know I’m going in the right direction. In another ten minutes (post 120), the climb ceases and, as you reach the Ushite shelter on your return, the views over the plateau towards Cherni Vrah are truly stunning. At post 50, there is the option of taking a slightly shorter route to Goli Vrah, but I’m a stickler for tradition and prefer to stay on the path with the posts. At post 30, you rejoin the slip road. Turn left, and in ten minutes you will be back at the main road where you started. Like all walks that go and return by the same route, this walk can easily be shortened by turning back earlier. What I like about continuing to Bor mountain hut is that it links this walk with two earlier walks, Planinets and Zlatni Mostove, and I get a better understanding of the mountain (just as the walks from Kopitoto and Bay Krastyo also meet in the middle, but lower down the mountain).

Posted on in Vitosha

Bay Krastyo – Goli Vrah – Kominite – Bay Krastyo

Starting Coordinates: 42.60455, 23.30066

Distance: 7.7 km

Elevation Gain: 450 m

Time: 3½ hours

Difficulty: moderate-hard

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 66 to the stop for Bay Krastyo

  • The penultimate stop of the 66 bus route with the hut in the bend of the road.
  • The path to Kominite. This is the path you will come back on.
  • The path (E4) to Aleko and Cherni Vrah. Take this path to the top of the chair lift (Goli Vrah).
  • Climb the log steps.
  • The path through the forest, having left the chair lift behind.
  • The small fountain.
  • The top of the chair lift, Goli Vrah.
  • The beginning of the path across the peat reserve in the direction of Ushite (visible in front of you).
  • The peat reserve with Ushite behind.
  • A description of the peat reserve.
  • After turning right to go to Kominite, look back to see the summit.
  • The picnic area next to the path from the peat reserve to Kominite.
  • There are wonderful views of Sofia.
  • Kominite, a well-known rock climbing area.
  • Dragalevtsi River, with Sofia in the background.

This is one of the higher routes on Vitosha, taking you to the peat reserve between Goli Vrah, the top of the Dragalevtsi chair lift, and Ushite, meaning “The Ears”, which is the part of the mountain most easily seen from Sofia. It is good to do it in reasonably fair weather. I have marked it “moderate-hard” because of the steep descent past the rock climbing area known as Kominite (“The Chimneys”), but the distance is comparable with other walks.

The starting point is the same as for the walk from Bay Krastyo to Kikish. You take the road that goes up the mountain from Dragalevtsi or bus no. 66. From the cobbled square of Dragalevtsi, you take the road in the far corner and carry on driving up the mountain for 9 km, ignoring the turning on the left for “Vodenitsata” restaurant. Stop at the slip road for Bay Krastyo, the middle station on the currently defunct Dragalevtsi chair lift, or get off at the penultimate stop of the 66 bus route.

Instead of walking down the slip road towards the station, however, you need to continue up the main road. After 80 metres, you will see a path signposted for Kominite. This is the path you will come back on. Continue around the corner for another 80 metres, and  you will come to a second path on your right, the E4, signposted for Aleko and Cherni Vrah. This is the path you want, which begins on the other side of a hut inside the bend of the road with large heaps of what looks like cement.

This path will take you to the top of the chair lift, Goli Vrah. It is a little confusing to begin with because on the left there is a bike trail. Some steps have been built with logs. It’s a good idea to follow these steps, and at the top turn right to continue up the mountain. In ten minutes, you will pass under the chair lift, but then the path will double back on itself, forming a zigzag and taking you back under the chair lift. It does this a second time. On returning under the chair lift for a second time, continue straight. Then, confusingly, the path again zigzags twice, not as far as the chair lift this time (the chair lift should end up on your right), before finally deciding to climb the mountain and leave the chair lift behind. If you are in any doubt, simply follow the red and black markers.

After fifteen minutes, you will see the bike trail on your left, which crosses the path you are on. Continue straight. The path gradually narrows and becomes wet. Logs have been placed where the ground is wettest and there is running water. In another five minutes, you will come to a fountain on your right. In another twenty minutes, you will pass a generator behind a wire fence on your left and become aware of the main road behind it. The path crosses a slip road, climbs some steps, and then crosses a second slip road (going to Salzitsa hut). Continue straight, ignoring the main road on your left and the slip road on your right. A stiff climb brings you in ten minutes to a third slip road. You want to join this slip road, which goes from the main road behind you all the way to the top of the mountain (the main road does not go to the summit of the mountain, it stops short, at Aleko).

Turn right along this slip road and in five minutes you will pass the top of the Dragalevtsi chair lift, Goli Vrah, on your right. Continue along the slip road, and in another five minutes take the turning right signposted for the shelter (“zaslon”) Ushite. This turning is very clearly marked by black and yellow posts, starting with the number 30. You are now in a very precious part of the mountain, the peat reserve, designated as such in 1935 and covering an area of 783 hectares. You will immediately notice that you have a spring in your step. Walking suddenly becomes easy because of the ground you are stepping on. Follow this path in the direction of Ushite directly in front of you, with Chernata Skala, “Black Rock”, to the left of it.

After ten minutes (post number 50), a path doubles back to Goli Vrah on your right. Keep going straight. Another ten minutes (post number 64), and a path diverges on the right. Keep going straight until after another ten minutes you get to post number 89. Here take the turning on your right, signposted for the Kominite Climbing Area and Kikish. Were you to continue in the direction of Ushite, the path would eventually take you to Bor mountain hut, which features in the walks Planinets and Zlatni Mostove. See the walk Ushite.

As you start along the turning on the right, look back the way you came and you will get a wonderful view of the summit, Cherni Vrah, on the right with the radar station (aka a golf ball) in the middle. Continue along this path. You are now heading in an easterly direction. After five minutes, there is a convenient picnic area on your right, where you can sit and admire the view towards Bistritsa and Pancharevo, with the mountains behind. Sometimes there are hang-gliders. Now the path begins to descend, with excellent views of Sofia to the north-east. After five minutes, a path heads left to Kikish. Keep right. The path becomes quite overgrown. In another fifteen minutes, you will reach Kominite, the rocks in front of you. The path veers right here (to avoid the rocks). The path then divides, but both branches lead in the same direction (the left branch is steeper, the right branch more roundabout). They will both take you past the climbing area on your left. This part of the walk can be tiring, you need to watch your step as the descent is quite steep. In twenty minutes, you will reach Dragalevtsi River. This river features in two other walks, Bay Krastyo and Simeonovo Lakes, but you are now higher upstream. Cross the river and follow the path across a small moraine field and back under the chair lift. In twenty-five minutes, you will be back at the main road where you started.

We have often done this walk in reverse, going from the main road (Bay Krastyo) only as far as Kominite and climbing the rocks there to have lunch. It’s not ideal for small children or pets, since the rocks are steep, but it’s a wonderful place to have a picnic. Shortly after crossing the river, at the bottom of the rock faces where people can be seen climbing, you leave the path you are on, walk along the bottom of the rock faces, and continue for another ten minutes. You pass a small shelter and come to a secluded area with large rocks you can sit on. It’s safe so long as you stay away from the edge.