Posted on March 19, 2022October 31, 2022 in Waterfalls

Dobravitsa

The longest river to run entirely in Bulgaria is the River Iskar, which rises in Rila Mountain and flows into the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania. Geologically, it is the oldest river in the Balkan Peninsula. Plenty of reason to admire it, then.

North of Sofia, it forms the Iskar Gorge, a fact that is taken advantage of by the railway, which runs alongside the river. The first major town heading north from Sofia is Svoge, famous for its chocolate factory, and from here Dobravitsa Waterfall is only twelve kilometres away!

So expect a windy road that follows the course of the river, with some spectacular views. To get there from Sofia, you need to go round on the ring road to Novi Iskar and then follow the signs for Svoge and Mezdra. Svoge is 38 kilometres north of Sofia, so the distance to the waterfall is 50 kilometres, but because of the twists and turns the journey takes about an hour and a half.

When you enter Svoge, do not follow the signs for the centre, which is left of the main road. Keep going and turn left when you reach the sign for Iskrets. You will pass the chocolate factory on your left and now you are following the course of another river, the Iskretska. Drive through Iskrets, but before you exit the town, take a right turn for Breze (5 km). This takes you up into the hills.

Pass an abandoned factory, and shortly after you ‘enter’ Breze (though the village itself is further on) you will see a dirt track leaving the road on your right. This is signposted for the waterfall and for the village of Dobravitsa. You can either park the car here, next to the main road, or risk driving your car up to the village. The distance from the main road to the waterfall is 3.9 km and takes about an hour and twenty minutes. If you drive to the village, the distance to the waterfall is 1.7 km and takes about forty minutes.

Immediately as you enter the village of Dobravitsa, the track veers to the right (the village is ahead of you). Follow this track for 800 m. When the track forks, turn left. The waterfall is another 900 m. There are some wonderful views over the hills, and you can see back to Iskrets.

As you approach the waterfall, you will see a remarkable rock formation on top of the hill in front of you, forming the Greek letter omega (Ω). Follow the rock with your eyes as it descends to the left. The waterfall is at the end. As the track veers back on itself, you leave the track and continue on a path to the waterfall, which is directly in front of you.

On your return through Iskrets, do consider stopping at Iskrets Monastery, which is in the grounds of the Tsar Ferdinand I Hospital, a specialized lung hospital. There is another beautiful waterfall just north of Svoge, near the village of Bov. The autumn colours here are amazing! But this might be better left for another day!

The Iskar Gorge with the railway running alongside it (in the background is Vitosha, the mountain south of Sofia).

The River Iskar as it passes through Svoge.

The dirt track leaving the road in Breze (the yellow sign is for the waterfall, the blue sign is for the village of Dobravitsa).

The dirt track leading to the village of Dobravitsa.

At the entrance to the village, the track veers right (again, the waterfall is signposted).

Here, the track forks – turn left (again, the waterfall is signposted).

The Omega formation on the hill in front of you.

When we were there, ice kept cracking off the rock and landing in the water near us!

Posted on February 20, 2022October 31, 2022 in Waterfalls

Ovchartsi

Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Bulgaria, Ovchartsi Waterfall is named after a Bulgarian maiden, Goritsa, who lived in the local village and was betrothed to a shepherd called Yovitsa. This was during the time of Turkish slavery, Ottoman rule in Bulgaria during the fourteenth-nineteenth centuries. The Turkish overlord or bey was struck by Goritsa’s beauty (it must have been a slightly terrifying time to be beautiful) and ordered his servants to fetch her for him. Goritsa took to the hills, in search of Yovitsa, who was watching his flocks, but the servants reached her before she could get to him, so she threw herself off the cliff. Ever since then, the waterfall (39 metres) and the river have borne her name.

The waterfall is above the village of Ovchartsi on the northern slopes of Rila Mountain. To get there from Sofia is about an hour and a quarter by car. You take the motorway to Greece (Kulata) and leave the motorway at the signs for Dupnitsa. You actually leave the motorway seven kilometres before Dupnitsa and follow the old road into Dupnitsa, past a succession of second-hand car dealers. On entering Dupnitsa, you take a right just before the OMV petrol station, signposted Sapareva Banya. You then follow this road, ignore a left turn that is signposted Plovdiv and Samokov and continue to the next set of lights, where you turn left for Sapareva Banya and Panichishte. If you take the road for Plovdiv and Samokov, you will have a very picturesque ride alongside the northern slopes of Rila, but you will not be able to reach the villages that nestle on these slopes. This is why you continue to the next set of lights and turn left here. This road takes you through the villages of Samoranovo and Resilovo to Ovchartsi.

In Ovchartsi, head to the central square, where there is a town hall and a children’s playground. Turn right on the near side of the square and go straight up the steep road in front of you, which bears right at the top, leading to a fountain and a place to park. From here, continue on foot. There is an ecopath to the waterfall, and it only takes about fifteen minutes to get there. Admire the view. When we went in February, there was a lot of ice, which made the path very slippery and people were having difficulty going up and down (with the inevitable laughter).

You can also make your way down to the river below the waterfall, but to do this you have to leave the path and climb down a slightly steep slope. Heading upstream, you will come to the lower part of the waterfall, with a wonderful view of the rocks above and trees silhouetted against the light.

Between Resilovo and Ovchartsi is the Resilovo Convent of the Holy Protection. It is a short drive from the road. The nature is beautiful, and the church has stunning frescoes. You can light a candle for your loved ones and enjoy the view back to Sofia!

The road into Dupnitsa, flanked by second-hand car dealers. Rila Mountain is right in front of you.

The fountain where you can park the car.

The steps at the start of the ecopath, with information boards in Bulgarian and English.

With a wooden bridge at the top, leading to the waterfall.

A sign with the story of Goritsa (Goritza).

The lower waterfall, seen from above. From here, the rock resembles the head of a young woman.

The lower waterfall. The rock now resembles the head of an old woman.

Directly above the rock, note the figure in white against a black background that seems to be jumping, thus confirming the legend.

Ovchartsi Town Hall (which has pictures of the waterfall).

Resilovo Convent of the Holy Protection.

Posted on February 14, 2022November 1, 2022 in Waterfalls

Aleko

There are two waterfalls on the outskirts of Sofia, on the lower slopes of the mountain that overlooks Sofia from the south, Vitosha. They are Aleko and Boyana. Aleko is the name of the last stop on the cabin lift that climbs the mountain from the Simeonovo district of Sofia and finishes a few hundred metres shy of the summit, Cherni Vrah (‘Black Peak’). Aleko Waterfall, however, is much lower down the mountain, between the districts of Dragalevtsi and Simeonovo.

To reach Aleko Waterfall, the best way is to head to Dragalevtsi Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Sofia, which has an old church with valuable frescoes. Above the monastery is a car park. From the far corner of the car park a path leads directly up the mountain, with the monastery residential building on the left, but you don’t have to go any higher up the mountain. Instead you take a path that forks immediately left (with the monastery behind you and on your left) and then you stay more or less at the same height and wind your way around the mountain. Within a few minutes, the path forks again. Do not be tempted to start to climb the mountain; take the left fork and continue until you reach two wooden bridges crossing the Dragalevska River. This is a charming spot, with the river threading through the forest, and there is a wooden walkway between the bridges to help you keep your feet dry!

Continue at the same height. The path winds through a wonderful beech and pine forest. After a short time, you reach the disused Dragalevtsi-Goli Vrah chairlift, my first experience of taking a lift on Vitosha Mountain. It was like sitting on a park bench suspended in mid-air and for me, a novice at the time, it was a terrifying experience. I gradually became used to it, but sadly the lift has been discontinued. This is a shame since it offered a very useful way for walkers and mountain bikers to head up the mountain.

At a later stage, you will come across a fountain with a bench and a small icon of the Mother of God. All the time, paths continue up the mountain or drop down, but there is no need to change your height. After about an hour, there is a rocky outcrop with one of the most beautiful views of Sofia down below. Be careful not to go too close to the edge! This is an ideal place to stop and take some refreshments. You are now two minutes away from the waterfall. Continue along the path, and you will come to the waterfall, which when I visited in February was partially frozen and made for a wonderful sight.

The waterfall is formed by the river Skakavitsa, and I understand there is a second, smaller waterfall further down. You now have a choice to retrace your footsteps (if you have left the car in the car park) or to continue to Simeonovo and the Simeonovo Lakes, a set of small, artificial pools, which takes another half an hour. Buses go to and from the districts of Dragalevtsi and Simeonovo, so whether you retrace your footsteps or continue to Simeonovo, you should be able to take a bus from there back to the centre of Sofia.

A tree has been protected by a fence. On the left is the wire fence surrounding Dragalevtsi Monastery.

The monastery buildings through the trees.

The path forks almost immediately. Keep left.

A wooden bridge over the Dragalevska River.

The disused Dragalevtsi chairlift, with Sofia in the background.

More cables cut through the forest, offering another view of Sofia.

Beneath the snow is one of many moraines – rocks left by glaciers – on Vitosha Mountain.

The rocky outcrop just before the waterfall.

From here you are within touching distance of the waterfall.

The waterfall, which in February was partially frozen.

The rocky outcrop offers one of the best views of Sofia.

Posted on January 3, 2022May 9, 2022 in Waterfalls

Chavdar

Chavdar is a pretty village about seventy kilometres due east of Sofia, a little south of the main road, the E871, that connects Sofia with Burgas on the Black Sea coast. This road runs alongside the Balkan mountain to the north, so from Chavdar and the walk to the nearby waterfall of Kazanite you get wonderful views of the Balkan itself. To the east, you also get a glimpse of the industrial town of Pirdop.

You drive straight through the village and continue for another three kilometres along the asphalt road until you reach the river Topolnitsa, a beautiful river that looks like elephant hide. Here the asphalt road becomes a dirt track. We went in January and decided to park the car on the verge just before the bridge. You then walk about 700 metres along the dirt track in front of you before cutting through the forest on your right (there is a signpost), again along a rutted track that climbs the side of the hill, offering wonderful views of the Balkan and Pirdop behind you.

You reach the top of the hill, and the track begins to descend. Shortly afterwards, there is a steep path going directly down to the waterfall. Again, this is signposted. The path leads to a metal bridge over the waterfall and to a picnic table on the other side, next to the stream (a tributary of the Topolnitsa). From here, you can see the top of the waterfall, but the only way to get a general view of the waterfall like the one in the photos is to backtrack a little and then edge your way along the side of the stream until you can see the waterfall in front of you. The ledge you walk along is narrow, so this is not for the fainthearted! You can also walk off the path down to the stream below the waterfall and again look upstream to the waterfall, though from here you will only see the lower part of the waterfall.

The waterfall is called ‘Kazanite’, meaning ‘The Cauldrons’ in Bulgarian. The various pools look like cauldrons, the running water is the ingredients being stirred. In the photos below, you can see the walk to the waterfall, which takes about an hour and a half, and the waterfall itself. A perfect day out from Sofia. On the way back, you can stop in the village of Chavdar and have a drink in the centre.