Tag: elevation gain 300-500 m

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Bay Krastyo – Kikish – Dragalevtsi Monastery – Bay Krastyo

Starting Coordinates: 42.60447, 23.30224

Distance: 7.3 km

Elevation Gain: 430 m

Time: 3¼ hours

Difficulty: Moderate

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

  • The slip road to Bay Krastyo, the midway station on the Dragalevtsi chair lift.
  • Bay Krastyo station.
  • Next to the station is a picnic table under a tree and a sign for the E4 path.
  • After going under the chair lift, the path enters beautiful beech forest.
  • In ten minutes, it crosses Dragalevtsi River.
  • Dragalevtsi River.
  • The first, smaller moraine field.
  • The second, larger moraine field.
  • This moraine field offers wonderful views of Sofia and the Balkan behind.
  • The path to Kikish re-enters the forest.
  • Kikish mountain hut, a good place to stop for refreshment.
  • From Kikish, a path heads east to Dragalevtsi Monastery.
  • The path through the forest.
  • Cross the road in front of you.
  • You soon join a much wider path, with Dragalevtsi Monastery on the left.
  • Our route takes us back uphill.
  • Back over Dragalevtsi River.
  • The two paths run parallel, then separate.
  • At the chair lift, return to the road on the right and take the path to Bay Krastyo, Aleko and Cherni Vrah.
  • This path goes under the chair lift.
  • Soon you are at the slip road, which takes you back to the main road.

This is a truly wonderful walk that takes you to one of the biggest moraine fields on Vitosha and offers superb views of Sofia. It also throws in two wonderful glimpses of Dragalevtsi River. You must access the mountain via the village of Dragalevtsi. You leave the central square by the cobbled road in the far corner and drive up the mountain. After 1.5 km, ignore the turning on the left for the “Vodenitsata” restaurant. Continue straight. The road does a big curve and after another 3 km you come to the bus stop for Dragalevtsi Monastery, the starting point for two walks: Boyana Lake and Simeonovo Lakes. Continue uphill and after another 3 km you pass under the Dragalevtsi chair lift. In another 1.5 km, there is a slip road on the right that takes you to what was the midway station on the Dragalevtsi chair lift, Bay Krastyo. You can park under the trees here. This is also the penultimate stop on the 66 bus route.

Walk down the slip road on your right. You will pass a bike trail and a low building on the right, then a restaurant on the left. Immediately after the restaurant is the beginning of a path to Dragalevtsi Monastery on the right. You will come back on this path. But for now continue straight. In front of you is the midway station on the chair lift, now sadly disused. I still remember carrying my young child on this lift and jumping off at the station. It is such a shame that the lift no longer works.

With the station in front of you, there are some steps on your left, a picnic table under a tree, and a sign for the E4 European long-distance path and Cherni Vrah. Climb the steps and take this path, with the station now on your right. It goes around the station, under the chair lift, and immediately enters forest. There is then a sign for Kikish and Kamen Del mountain huts, which you can visit on the walk Kopitoto. A path joins from the left. Keep going straight. When you reach some moraines (large glacial boulders) with a view of Sofia, the path veers left and in about ten minutes you reach a bridge over Dragalevtsi River, your first view of the river. You will see it again further down on the way back.

The advantage of this walk is that for the most part you are in forest, so the path is shaded and cool even on a hot summer’s day. In a couple of minutes, you reach the first moraine field, which continues for a few minutes. Walking across these fields is a little tiresome, especially for our four-legged friends. After the first moraine field, there is a lookout over Sofia on the right. Keep going and in another ten minutes you come to the big moraine field, which is in the open and offers wonderful views of Sofia. It takes several minutes to cross. This and Zlatni Mostove are the best places to see the moraines up close.

At the end of the moraine field, the path dives back into the forest and the shade once more. In three minutes, there is a path on your right signposted for Dragalevtsi Monastery. This is a more direct route, but we will continue to Kikish mountain hut, the furthest point on the walk Kopitoto, so that we can say we have covered the whole of the front of the mountain. The path begins to climb, in ten minutes it reaches a kind of summit, with a path on the left and right, and then it descends to the mountain hut, which is fifteen minutes after the earlier path to Dragalevtsi Monastery.

Kikish is a good place to rest and have some refreshment. There is a small pond and a stream, with chairs and tables. If you continue on the path you were on, you will repeat the second half of the walk Kopitoto, which is not necessary. So now you want to head east on a second path to Dragalevtsi Monastery that starts next to the stream, on the opposite side of the pond to the hut. It takes just over half an hour to reach Dragalevtsi Monastery from here. The path is a little steep in places, but again shaded. In 25 minutes, you will see the road on your right. Ignore this, continue down for another couple of minutes, cross the road in front of you, continue on the path on the other side, and in another five minutes you will come to a much wider path with Dragalevtsi Monastery on your left.

However, unless you want to visit the monastery, now turn right and go uphill. The path is very lovely because it is wide. In ten minutes, the first path to Dragalevtsi Monastery we ignored earlier joins this path from the right. Keep straight. In another ten minutes, you reach a second bridge over Dragalevtsi River. Five minutes after the bridge, you must leave the path and take a higher path on the right that is signposted for Bay Krastyo and Aleko. The two paths run parallel for a while, but then separate, as all paths do. Continue to climb, and in a couple of minutes you will be back at the chair lift with the road on your right.

You now have a fifteen-minute walk uphill to get back to the midway station, Bay Krastyo. Two or three paths all complete this ascent, intersecting and dividing as they go. It doesn’t really matter which path you take. At the chair lift, you can take the larger path uphill to the road. Then go right for fifty metres until you come to some steps on the left signposted for Bay Krastyo, Aleko and Cherni Vrah. Take this path, which goes uphill, then left, uphill, then left under the chair lift, uphill (the midway station now visible in front of you, the chair lift on your right) until it joins the slip road where we saw it earlier. At the slip road, turn left and in five minutes you will be back at the main road.

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Kopitoto – Momina Skala – Kamen Del – Kikish – Kopitoto

Starting coordinates: 42.6356, 23.24779

Distance: 9.9 km

Elevation Gain: 330 m

Time: 3¼ hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 63 to the Dendrarium

  • Kopitoto Hotel.
  • The path starts on the right of the hotel.
  • You are directly submerged into forest.
  • Twenty minutes after the hotel, there is a crossroads. Go left…
  • … but only after making a small detour!
  • Momina Skala – the large, open field.
  • Momina Skala – the hut in the trees.
  • Boyana River as it leaves the hut behind.
  • Esperanto hut.
  • Kamen Del hut.
  • The view of Sofia from Kamen Del.
  • A small moraine river between Kamen Del and Kikish.
  • Kikish hut.
  • Boyana River between Momina Skala and the waterfall.
  • The view of Sofia from the path back to Kopitoto.
  • When the path ends, go right and in ten minutes you will be back at the hotel.

This was my first walk on Vitosha back in 2003, so it’s a very special walk for me. It takes you to the three mountain huts that overlook Sofia from the front of Vitosha: Esperanto, Kamen Del, and Kikish. There are huts further up or around the mountain, but these are the first I visited.

When you look at the mountain from Sofia, there are certain things you notice. One of them is the golf ball on top of the mountain, which is in fact a radar station on the second highest peak of Vitosha, Golyam Rezen. But unmissable in the west is the large TV tower (186 m) and, next to it, a hotel building, both named after the rocky outcrop they stand on: Kopitoto (“The Hoof”). This walk starts at the hotel. To get there by car, you take the road through Boyana (which is actually a continuation of the main thoroughfare heading south of the centre, Bulgaria Boulevard – after you pass under the ring road, this road affords excellent views of the tower and hotel) and continue until you reach the Dendrarium on your right. There is then a turning on your left, which ends at the hotel after 2.7 kilometres. If travelling by bus no. 63, you will have to get off at the Dendrarium and walk the rest of the way. After 1.3 kilometres, you will pass a turning on your right to Planinets, the start of another walk, and after another kilometre you will pass the TV tower on your left before reaching the hotel in another 400 metres.

What makes this walk so special is the sudden transition from the world of concrete (the hotel) to the world of nature. You are literally immersed. The path starts on the right of the hotel. It immediately divides, a branch on the left heading back down to Boyana. Ignore this branch and continue up some steps, past a marble bench, into a wonderful avenue of trees that lean towards each other in the canopy, forming what looks like the nave of a cathedral. Large boulders are strewn on the right, resembling strange creatures. After approximately ten minutes, a path diverges on your left to Boyana Waterfall. This is the path you will return on. Ignore it for now and continue straight in the direction of Cherni Vrah/Momina Skala. After ten minutes, you will come to a crossroads. You want to go left here, still in the direction of Cherni Vrah/Momina Skala, but I’m going to let you in on a secret. A few metres away is my favourite spot on the mountain, a magical place I walked past for many years without knowing it was there. To get there, you need to make a small detour: at the crossroads, turn right towards Karpuzov Valog. Continue for a couple of minutes past some trees on your left until you reach a picnic table out in the open. Leave the path and walk to the picnic table. From here, you have the most outstanding view of south-west Bulgaria. My wife and I watched the sunset here one New Year’s Eve. It is such a peaceful place for a moment of mindfulness.

Now go back to where you were – the crossroads – but this time go left in the direction of Cherni Vrah/Momina Skala. After about five minutes, you will hear Boyana River, the river that forms Boyana Waterfall further down, on your left. In another ten minutes, you will reach Momina Skala, a large, open field with tables and shelters, a restaurant and large antenna, which features in many of these walks. Skirt the lefthand side of the field, leaving it behind you, and descend to Momina Skala hut in the trees. The river is in front of you. There is a small bridge, which you need to cross.

A path on your right goes uphill to Cherni Vrah. It is possible to reach the last of the mountain huts on this walk, Kikish, more directly by taking this path and then a left fork that goes to Kikish via Sredets, but we are going to take the path on the left that goes downhill and is signposted for all three mountain huts and Boyana Waterfall. In five minutes, the path divides. Go right, again in the direction of the three huts. After five minutes, a path joins from the left. This is the path you will go back on, but keep going downhill and in five minutes you will reach the first of the huts, Esperanto. It is currently abandoned and a little overgrown. There is a swing attached to a tree.

Keep going on the same path and in ten minutes you will come to the second hut, Kamen Del. The view of Sofia from here is memorable. The hut itself is friendly and offers good food. It’s a perfect place to take some refreshment. I went one rainy day and was incredibly grateful for the free herb tea that was served with every meal. If you feel you have gone far enough, you can now turn around and head back in the direction of Kopitoto.

The last hut, Kikish, is another twenty minutes away on the same path. After ten minutes, the path from Momina Skala via Sredets joins from the right. In another five minutes, there is a small moraine river on your right, and soon the hut itself appears. The reason for going this far is to connect the dots – another walk from Bay Krastyo (Dragalevtsi) approaches Kikish from the other direction, so you will have covered most of the front of the mountain. It’s up to you. Continuing to Kikish will add another 45 minutes to your walk.

Leaving Kikish, return to Kamen Del and then Esperanto, but be careful you don’t take the path on the left that goes to Momina Skala via Sredets. Five minutes after you walk back past Esperanto, again avoid the path to Momina Skala on your left (the path you came on). In a few more minutes, another path on your left leads to Momina Skala, while a path on the right leads to Boyana Waterfall. Keep straight. You will soon cross Boyana River as it tumbles down towards the waterfall, little knowing (or perhaps knowing all too well) what lies in store for it.

Five minutes after the bridge, there is a grassy clearing and then a path, again signposted for Boyana Waterfall, on your right. It’s worth taking this path for just a hundred metres in order to admire the view of Sofia. Come back to the path you were on and follow it until it ends in another five minutes. This is the path you ignored when you left Kopitoto. Now turn right and in ten minutes you will be back at the hotel.

Posted on in Vitosha

Tihiya Kat – Vladaya – Tihiya Kat

Starting coordinates: 42.63811, 23.21968

Distance: 7.6 km

Elevation Gain: 330 m

Time: 3 hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 63 to Tihiya Kat

  • The road from Boyana goes past a motel, Tihiya Kat, on the left and a bus stop on the right. This is the start of the walk.
  • The path descends straight into forest.
  • It winds between the trees.
  • After five minutes, you reach a bridge across a small stream.
  • There is then a hut on your right.
  • Horses use this trail as well!
  • A field on your right contains farm buildings.
  • When the path begins to veer right towards the village, you continue straight.
  • You soon come to a clearing with paths going up and down the mountain.
  • You take the second path on the left (the “low-altitude circular trail”), which is crossed by small streams.
  • Vladaya River can now be heard and seen on your right.
  • There is a grassy area with high rocks on your left.
  • You continue uphill.
  • At the top of the rocks is another grassy area which people use to light fires.
  • The path now follows the course of the river.
  • Vladaya River before it goes under the bridge.
  • The shallow area and sluice on the lower side of the bridge.
  • The beauty of water.
  • The bridge over Vladaya River, as far as this walk goes.
  • Coming back down, you take the path on your left that continues alongside the river and soon reach a bridge.
  • Having crossed back over, you leave the river behind and return to the clearing. The route back to Tihiya Kat is now the same.

This is one of the loveliest walks on Vitosha and it has the advantage of being a good walk to do even when the weather is bad because it’s lower down the mountain. You take the car or bus on the road that climbs the mountain from Boyana Village and stop at a motel-restaurant called Tihiya Kat. The motel is on your left. The walk starts at the bus stop on your right.

A path descends straight into forest and takes you to the next village around the mountain, Vladaya. After about five minutes, you reach a bridge over a stream. A few minutes later, there is a hut on your right where people light fires. After another ten minutes, you come to some farm buildings in a field on the right where there are sometimes horses. In fact, this path is part of a “low-altitude circular trail” that goes all the way around the mountain and is shared by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. In another ten minutes, there is a path on the left before a pylon, followed by another path on the left after the pylon. There are some tables here where you can rest. Continue on the shared trail, and soon the village of Vladaya will become visible through the trees on your right. After five minutes, a path joins from the left. The path you are on begins to veer to the right to enter the village, but you want to go straight ahead (signposted for Marchaevo and Kladnitsa), not into the village.

In a couple of minutes, you come to a clearing. A path on the left leads up to Planinets, a mountain hut which is the start of another walk. A path on the right leads down to the village. You want the second path on the left (signposted for Zlatni Mostove, Kumata and Cherni Vrah). This second path is, in fact, a continuation of the low-altitude circular trail. There is a small path in front of you which leads down to Vladaya River. You will come back on this path.

So take the second path on the left. You can now hear Vladaya River on your right and later you will be able to glimpse it through the trees. The path is crossed by several small streams on their way to the river. It then starts to climb. After fifteen minutes, you reach an abandoned house on the right. Immediately on the left is a plaque in memory of someone who died. This is followed by some high rocks on the left with a grassy area where people light fires. The route continues uphill, but note the path behind you, on your right. This is the path you will take on coming back down the mountain.

Continue uphill. You pass the top of the rocks on your left, but carry straight on. You are now following the course of the river. At one point, the path veers away from the river to the left, but it soon curls back again, and in a few more minutes you reach a bridge over the river. The path continues uphill in the direction of Zlatni Mostove (the start of another walk), or you can go over the bridge in the direction of the villages of Marchaevo, Rudartsi and Kladnitsa.

But we will pause at this beautiful spot in order to take a rest and admire the river. The water tumbles under the bridge. There is then a shallow area, with a sluice on the far side. The light on the water makes for a very attractive sight. In fact, this is one of my favourite spots on the mountain.

Having taken your fill, you now retrace your steps back down the mountain, unless you have the whole day in front of you and fancy continuing to Zlatni Mostove or Marchaevo. When after about five minutes you reach the rocks further down, remember to take the path on your left that follows the course of the river. You will divert a little from the route, but you will rejoin it later on. The views of the river are wonderful, especially in winter, when the water level is high. After five minutes, you reach a bridge across the river. Cross to the other side and continue downhill past a small bench and shelter until you reach a second bridge that takes you back to the other side of the river. If you continue downhill on the same side of the river, you will come to the village of Vladaya.

Cross this second bridge and take the path on your left that climbs uphill. After five minutes, another path joins from the right. You then come to the same clearing you were in earlier. Now the route back to Tihiya Kat is the same. You simply keep going straight on the same level (going left will take you down to the village, right further up the mountain) and in about forty minutes you should be back where you started.

This is a wonderful walk, one of my favourite walks on Vitosha. But a word of caution. I have a small dog and I have often come across big dogs in the vicinity of Vladaya or next to the river. There are also horses from time to time. So you might want to keep an eye on your little friend if you have one.

This is a film I took of Vladaya River in December after some heavy rain. It is an exhilarating river to be next to!
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Zlatni Mostove – Planinarska Pesen – Bor – Septemvri – Zlatni Mostove

Starting coordinates: 42.6097479, 23.2361762

Distance: 7.8 km

Elevation Gain: 360 m

Time: 3¼ hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 63 to Zlatni Mostove

  • At Zlatni Mostove, the main road continues right past the bus stop, while a side road on the left leads to the beginning of this walk.
  • The beginning of the path that goes to Planinarska Pesen and Kumata.
  • The moraine river.
  • The path crosses two streams.
  • And then divides. Take the left fork.
  • The path through the forest.
  • Towards the top, before reaching the main road, head left.
  • The path doubles back on itself before joining the main road at the top.
  • Planinarska Pesen (“Mountain Song”) with metal notes.
  • A view from the path below Planinarska Pesen.
  • Large rocks dot this path.
  • The path goes downhill to Septemvri, but take the higher path on the right.
  • Wooden walkways replace the path where the ground is wet.
  • Another westerly view.
  • After thirty minutes, you come to a clearing. Bor hut is visible ahead of you.
  • At the far side of the clearing, take the path that doubles back on your left.
  • Elitsa hotel marks the intersection where you coincide again with the path from Planinarska Pesen.
  • Continue straight until you reach the road at the bottom.
  • Turn left and take the path along the meadow.
  • The path rejoins the road. Continue on this road.
  • A stall selling honey and jam.
  • A view in Zlatni Mostove.
  • The road you are on takes you back to the no. 63 bus stop, the place where you started.

This is a classic Vitosha walk which has as its starting and end point an important location on the mountain: Zlatni Mostove (“Golden Bridges” in Bulgarian). Zlatni Mostove is memorable because of the river of moraines, large boulders, that tumbles down the mountainside and also because of the beautiful open meadow a little to the north, Beli Bryag. It is also where bus no. 63 turns around and goes back down the mountain, so there is no need to worry about where to get off!

You again go through the district/village of Boyana and continue up the mountain, going past the Dendrarium on your right and the turning to Kopitoto on your left, until you get to an open area on the road with a large bus stop. This is Zlatni Mostove. It is fourteen kilometres from the ring road that goes around Sofia. Park the car somewhere nearby. The main road continues up the mountain and soon becomes cobbled, but for Zlatni Mostove itself you want to take a side road on your left. Continue up this road for three minutes and, as the road veers to the left, with the river of moraines on your left, you will see two paths departing from the road. One heads to Artistite and Selimitsa, it sort of doubles back. The path you want is the left of the two, signposted for Planinarska Pesen and Kumata. You climb some steps with the moraine river on your left. After fifteen minutes, you come to a stream (actually, two streams with small bridges over both of them). A short distance after the streams, the path divides. Continue left.

The path now heads straight up the mountain for about twenty-five minutes. Towards the top, you come to an intersection. If you continue up the mountain, you will cross the main road and the path will take you to Kumata. If you go right, you will come to Ofeliite. But you want to go left. Follow this path for about ten minutes. It doubles back and climbs to the main road. At the main road, go left (the smaller road opposite leads to Kumata). You will come to three mountain huts located close together: Boeritsa on your left; ahead of you, then on your right, Borova Gora; and finally Planinarska Pesen, which means “Mountain Song” and fittingly has a few metal notes affixed to the wall. Just before this last hut, there is a path descending on your left, signposted for Zlatni Mostove and Bor. Take this path.

The path descends abruptly and then levels out with some wonderful views in a westerly direction. It winds through the forest, past large rocks, across minor streams. After about twenty minutes, the path begins to descend. It is signposted for Septemvri. But a new path begins on the right, signposted for Bor and Momina Skala. You want to go right in order to maintain your elevation, not to go down the mountain yet.

You continue along this new path, again with wonderful views in a westerly direction, for about thirty minutes. There are some wooden walkways where the ground is wet. After thirty minutes, you come to a clearing. This is the same clearing that features in the walk from Planinets. Directly ahead of you is Boyana River and Bor mountain hut, but when you reach the far side of the clearing, there is a path that doubles back on your left. It is signposted for Septemvri and Zlatni Mostove. Take this path and follow it all the way down the mountain. Again, there are some wooden walkways where the ground is wet. After twenty minutes on this path, there is a turning right to Septemvri. You can ignore this. In a few more minutes, you reach an intersection with the hotel Elitsa on your right. The path coming down the mountain on your left is the path you joined at Planinarska Pesen, but then left in order to join a new path on the right. None of this matters. You continue straight and in less than ten minutes you come to the road that connects Zlatni Mostove and Momina Skala.

At the road, turn left and take the path that goes past an open meadow called Beli Bryag. The view here always reminds me of Switzerland, I don’t know why. It is a lovely open area with benches where people like to picnic and have barbecues in summer. The path skirts the meadow and rejoins the road further down. At the road, continue left and follow the road for ten minutes. It will lead you directly back to the main road with the no. 63 bus stop.

This route up, across and down the mountain, which affords some wonderful views and has the added attraction of the moraines or large boulders, is shaped like an upside-down triangle. You go up one side, across the top and back down the other side until you return to the same point. The route can be shortened by following the path to Septemvri and turning left at the bottom (with Elitsa hotel in front of you). This new path will take you to the road, with the meadow, Beli Bryag, on your left.

No visitor can consider themselves acquainted with the mountain until they have come to Zlatni Mostove. On the final stretch, between the meadow and the bus stop, there are several stalls selling corn and jam and a couple of restaurants where you can get bean soup or meatballs (kyufteta).

Posted on in Vitosha

Planinets – Zlatni Mostove – Bor – Momina Skala – Planinets

Starting coordinates: 42.6246831, 23.2397177

Distance: 6.1 km

Elevation Gain: 320 m

Time: 3 hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Transport: by car, or by bus no. 63 to the Dendrarium

  • Planinets mountain hut and restaurant.
  • The beginning of the path.
  • After ten minutes, the path divides. Keep left.
  • At the large stone steps, turn right.
  • Water flowing down the mountainside, with ice in April.
  • The cobbled road that connects Momina Skala and Zlatni Mostove.
  • After a short descent, turn left and climb for forty minutes.
  • On this path, there is a stone wall.
  • There is also a broken wooden walkway where the ground is wet.
  • At the top of this path, you come to a clearing.
  • On joining another path, turn left and after a few metres you will come to Boyana River, a good resting-place.
  • On the other side of the bridge over the river is Bor mountain hut. Turn left and take the road or the path to its left (which is more direct).
  • You descend some steps to Rodina mountain hut.
  • Boyana River as it descends from Momina Skala (it will shortly become Boyana Waterfall).
  • The meadow in Momina Skala.
  • Head west and go downhill to rejoin the road to Planinets.
  • Where you rejoin the road to Planinets, there is a disused fountain.
  • When you reach the road, Planinets is just on your left.

This is a wonderful, circular walk that starts and ends at the mountain hut and restaurant Planinets. To get there, you need a car. The alternative is to take bus no. 63 to the Dendrarium and to walk from there, but this will add at least an hour.

You take the road to Vitosha that goes through the village of Boyana, follow the road up the mountain. Immediately after you pass the Dendrarium on your right, there is a turning on the left to Kopitoto (where there is a hotel and a television tower). Take this turning. Before you get to Kopitoto, there is a turning on the right to Planinets. Take this smaller road, but be careful, it is full of potholes. The mountain hut/restaurant is at the end.

To start the walk, go past the mountain hut on your left and take the path that descends directly in front of you. After a short descent, this path begins to climb gradually through beautiful forest. It divides after about ten minutes. Take the left fork. A trunk has fallen across the path, so you have to bow your head. Continue for another ten minutes until you reach some large stone steps. At the top of these steps, turn right and after five minutes you will come to the cobbled road that goes from Momina Skala on your left to Zlatni Mostove on your right. Cross the road, climb the steps directly opposite and join the path that connects Momina Skala and Zlatni Mostove. Go right, the path descends steeply for a few minutes. At the bottom, take the path that climbs directly on your left (the road is on your right, and Zlatni Mostove is in front of you). You will now stay on this path for forty minutes or thereabouts.

The path climbs steeply for ten minutes (this is the hardest part of the walk, but nothing too strenuous). Ignore the crossroads, with a hotel (Elitsa) on your left. Keep going straight. After a few minutes, ignore the turning to Septemvri on your left. Keep straight. The path levels out, you cross little streams and pass large boulders called moraines. Eventually you will come to a clearing with plants. Here you join another path coming from Planinarska Pesen. Go left, and in a few metres you will reach a bridge over Boyana River. This attractive river tumbles down the mountainside and further down becomes Boyana Waterfall. This is an ideal spot to have a rest. It is also about halfway through the walk. From now on, the walk is downhill.

When you are rested and have enjoyed one of my favourite spots on the mountain, cross the bridge over the river. There is a mountain hut on your right, Bor. You want to go left (not straight). You can walk on the road, or better take the path that is on the left of the road. On the path, you will keep crossing the road as it winds down the mountain (the path is more direct). After a few minutes, cross the road, and then you will reach the mountain hut Tintyava. Immediately after the hut, turn left, with the building on your left. Cross the road again, and you will descend some steps to the mountain hut Rodina. Go straight past the building on your left. Cross the road again, and now you are on the path to Momina Skala. After fifteen minutes, a path joins the path you are on from the right. At the bottom, turn left and cross the bridge over the same river, Boyana River, you were sitting by earlier, except that now you are further downstream. Pass the mountain hut Momina Skala on your left and climb the short path to a large open area where there is a meadow and places to sit. This is Momina Skala, a popular destination in summer.

Cross the meadow (do not take the path that veers off on your right, this goes to Kopitoto). On the far side of the meadow is a restaurant. Pass the restaurant on your right and a hundred metres away, on the other side of a parking area, is a path marked “Planinets” heading west. This path goes straight down the hill and has wonderful views west of the mountain. Keep going straight down the hill. After ten minutes, you will cross a path connecting Zlatni Mostove and Kopitoto, but do not take it. Keep going downhill. Towards the end of the day, the light here is very attractive as the sun begins to set. Twenty minutes after leaving the restaurant in Momina Skala you will reach the road to Planinets. The mountain hut is just on your left.

This is one of my very favourite walks on Vitosha, but it can be shortened. When you get to the cobbled road, instead of going right, you can go left. The path will take you straight to the meadow in Momina Skala, and from there you can head downhill to the road leading to Planinets. This will shorten the walk by several kilometres, but I recommend the longer route.