Trail Running in Rila National Park, Bulgaria
I came across these beautiful mountains completely by accident. I was searching for qualifying races for the famous (infamous?) Hardrock 100 and, in the US, these tend to be expensive and sell out quickly. On the list of races was one in Bulgaria; the Pirin Ultra 100 (which also has a 66k, 38k, and 25k, all with some insane vertical gain). This caught my attention. A destination race that would likely cost less than running one in the US (my airBNB was $19/night for a condo at a ski resort at the base of the mountains. Flight was $545. Food was cheap as hell)?!! Yes, please!!
This quickly evolved quickly into the justification for an entire trip (see also my write up on the Pirin Ultra 100, Pirin National Park (Bansko), and Running Mount Olympus, Greece).
First, about Bulgaria. It was an interesting place. The mountains were an immensely pleasurable surprise. The prices were amazingly low. The people, that was a mixed bag. The people, particularly the males, tended to be very “Eastern European”, meaning serious, dour, brooding, etc… However, there was the pleasant surprise when occasionally I would come across a happy-go-lucky, “life is wonderful” Bulgarian. The women tending to be a little lighter and positive than the men. I should add that the place I stayed outside of Rila (my AirBNB) was hosted by two of the most lovely people (Anna and George) I have had the pleasure of spending time with.
Rila National Park and Rila Monastery
Rila is only 1.5–2 hours from the capital city of Sofia. As such, it sees a good amount of visitors, though not a ton of tourists. The main two draws to the area are Rila National Park, particularly the seven lakes area (on the north side of the park) and Rila Monastery, the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery (I think the location helps).
You are actually able to rent a room and stay in the monastery over night. I did so for two nights and used it as a base-camp for some explorations. The rooms are spartan, as one would expect, but it is a unique experience.
On to the trails…
Pastra
Most of my time in the area was spent at this delightful AirBNB in Pastra, a village about 4–5 miles from the Monastery. Though surrounded by mountains the trails here are quite sparse. However, there are some options, including a 60 miler that starts from Pastra and heads through the heart of the National Park, with access to Seven Lakes. I’ll discuss this one later (I did a compressed version, overnight).
Heading up the mountains to the north, directly from Pastra, is a road that heads up to a reservoir (Kalin), which is apparently the highest reservoir in Bulgaria. The road is not well maintained. Though not a trail, it isn’t quite road running either and there really isn’t any traffic and goes through some beautiful forest. This is good for short excursions from town.
There are trails that head out, in both directions, from the reservoir. However, the road is 8 or 9 miles from Pastra to the top. If you have a vehicle, this might be worth the drive for some exploring.
From the town, and the AirBNB, there is a dirt road that follows the main road until it hits a dirt forest road. This route is an attempted exploration of those roads. There is an expansive network and if staying in the area for a while, these could be well-utilized. Some of these roads were completely unmaintained. Others were wide, cleared, smooth dirt roads. The road network, if followed uphill, will eventually lead to, and follow, the ridge where there is obviously little trafftic. I used this as part of the bigger 60 mile loop.
Pastra Marathon(ish) loop
This was a bigger loop (25 miles, 7000ft climbing) doing some exploring and finally getting into the mountains.
I started by running down the dirt road mentioned earlier, that follows the river and parallels the main road. This eventually hits the forest road, where I was able to connect with the main road. I did have to run down this for a few miles to get to the access to the mountains.
The access is a road that climbs to the village of Padala. I branched off of this road before the town, taking a trail/road uphill to the west of town. However, I kind of wish I went into town for breakfast, to check out this tucked away little village in the mountains (next time).
After leaving the road, there is simply a lot of climbing, steep climbing, up to the ridgeline. This is all used for pasture. As such, the biggest issue I had was with the flies. It was pretty bad at time.
After reaching the ridge, it is simply a matter of following that (and trying to follow any semplance of trail) to the east toward the reservoir. Along the way there are some great views and a lot of ponies.
After a few miles of following the ridgeline you’ll begin to see the reservoirs on each side, with Kalin in a bowl to the southeast. The route wraps around Kalin, hitting a dirt road to the north of it, that ends at a tower (fire-tower once upon a time?).
Follow the road around and eventually hit the main reservoir access road that drops back down to Pastra.
This access road drops for about 8 miles back down to town. There is a lot of beauty along it. There are also some ugly stretches and stretches with the persistent flies. At least it is all downhill.
Loop from Rila Monastery
Link to map (16 miles (could be shorter), 6,400ft ascent/descent)
I stayed two nights in the Rila Monastery (there seem to be a few options for this, but here is a link to my host) and wanted to use it as a base for getting into the mountains. I only was able to one day but it was a great outing.
My intent was to go all of the way to Seven Lakes. I did reach the ridge overlooking the lakes but did not drop into the valley. I spent too much time enjoying my own lakes region to have enough left over to cross the hump to another.
The trail starts right by the monastery and climbs through a beautiful forest. These trails below treeline in Bulgaria I found to be absolutely spectacular. However, because the elevation is high(ish) and the treeline low, because of the latitude, the forested zone is minimal (something I loved about Greece and Mount Olympus… plenty of forest). It doesn’t take long to pop above the forest and then it is just grassland. As such, the trail is not very well defined and is quite steep. The trail climbs 4,500ft in 3.5 miles to reach the first ridge.
From that ridge I knew there was a valley between me and Seven Lakes that contained its own abundance of lakes. I also knew, from past experience and travels, that, very often, there were frequently similar geological features and natural beauty just a small distance away from well-known areas, but with 1/1000th of the visitation because it required work to get to. Given this, rather than following the ridgeline around, I dropped into the valley. I am so glad that I did.
As I descended steeply into the valley, a herd of weird antelope/mountain goat looking things galloped across the valley floor to escape my approach. Once in the valley, the trails pass an array of different lakes, each with its own uniqueness and beauty. The terrain and mountains are quite rugged and there was a feeling of seclusion. I really wished I had my camping gear. I would have loved to spend the night there.
It was early-October, so the lichen and brush was starting to change color. The oranges and browns were vibrant in the sun and against the rock (the pictures do not do it justice). This was one of those times and places where I got pretty emotional at the shear beauty and awe of the place.
I slowly moved my way through this place, savoring it, knowing it would probably mean sacrificing Seven Lakes, but not caring.
Finally, I came to the last lake in the valley. I spend some time there refilling water. Finally, I encountered other hikers, coming down from the ridge separating this valley from Seven Lakes. These were the only people I saw all day.
From this lake, the trail climbs steeply to the ridge between the two valleys. At the top, you can look down on the Seven Lakes area and see the hut and parking area off in the distance. I decided not to drop into the valley and instead turn around and go back through the valley the way I had come, since I enjoyed it so much.
However, I am not one for out-and-backs and, other than the part below treeline, I really did not want to go back down the trail I had initially climbed. That would suck. So, I went off trail and climbed a slope to get to the trail that I knew was at the top of the slope. I very much enjoyed this and you can see my route on the GPX. This allowed me to take a different route back to the monastery. Once again, the part above treeline was not the most scenic, but once back in the trees it was spectacular.
Pastra / Rila 100k
Link to the 100k map | Links to the stretches I did (day 1, day 2, day 3)
I have two maps above. I was planning on doing this as a 3-day fast-packing trip so I wouldn’t miss much of the scenery by traversing a lot of the route at night. However, my lolligagging ways and some poor weather (and a lack of desire to run down that 8 mile road from the reservoir) led to a shorter second day followed by a very short (but amazing) 3rd day. The first map shows the original route created on Strave route-builder. The other links are the actual GPX routes from my outing.
This loop started in Pastra, at the AirBNB mentioned earlier. I went up the forestry roads, though a slightly different route, to obtain the ridgeline about 5.5 miles and 3,000 ft of climbing in. At this first summit, there is the Bulgarian flag blowing in the wind, and a marker of some kind.
Once on the ridgeline, the route continues to climb, reaching a high point of almost 8,000ft. This stretch is the least scenic of the route, but you will have it to yourself and it only gets better from here.
At about 11.5 miles in, the route approaches the high point prior to the Makedonia Hut. At this high point, it is quite tricky finding a route to descend. I never was able to and simply bush-whacked my way down to the road below me. This was neither easy nor enjoyable. Prior to the summit, there is a route (road) around to the right, which bypasses the summit and comes back around to the base (where I reconnected with it after the bush-whacking).
Following the road, you’ll pass a pasture and little ‘farm’. A bit past this there will be an area to refill on water (there is water available, a spring, at the hut as well). After the water crossing the route climbs back up to the ridgeline. After about 2.5 miles the trail will intersect with a road. There are a few options at this point. The first of the options to the right will take you most directly to the Makedonia Hut (though both will get you there).
The hut is located at a saddle. There may be some food and there was definitely beer there. Also, beds for rent. I filled up my water, used the bathroom, and moved on.
The trail (road) drops steeply on the other side of the saddle. I found a tolerable, but less than optimal, place to set up my tent for the night about 1 mile past the hut. I should have kept going. If fast or back packing, there was a few delightful spots in the woods about 4–4.5 miles past the hut. Shortly after this, stay left on the road when there is a split. This road will climb, following the river, to a waterfall. The road ends here and there is an additional spot for camping.
From this point, the route climbs steeply, following a trail that can be challenging to follow. Just keep climbing steeply and keep the river within hearing distance on your right.
Eventually the route smooths out and crosses the river. Here the trail enters a lovely meadow surrounded by mountains. This is when this route really starts getting into the good stuff. After crossing the river, you’ll begin to stay a little to the right of it. There are some infrequent cairns guiding the way, but it did take some navigating here to stay on the route.
The trail will skirt above two lakes. After the second, it will begin climbing up and to the right to reach the ridge. The view behind you isn’t too bad.
After reaching the ridge, the trail drops below a summit to the left and provides gorgeous views across the valley. Keep following the route along the slope until it reaches the next ridge.
At this point you’ll be able to look down into the next valley, with its lakes and the Ribni Ezra Hut. As with most of the trails here, this one drops steeply into the valley. At the hut I got a beer and there is an array of food options. And, of course, you can stay the night. I spent a bit too much time there, soaking up the views and the sun (and the beer) before moving on.
The trail descends mildly along this stretch, until it bottoms out in the Rila Valley. From this point the climbing starts up the north wall of the valley. The trail climbs to just over 8700ft and then begins to follow the ridge.
What goes up must come down, and as I found in Bulgaria, things come down quickly here. The route drops to a saddle with the main northern ridge of mountains (in the picture above) on the other side.
My original plans were to head up this northern ridge and begin traversing it in order to work my way back towards Pastra. However, my lolligagging at the hut and slowness of progress, because of the steepness and the beauty, made me a bit behind schedule. I was already considering alternate routes out. As I descended toward the saddle I also noted the wind picking up, temperature dropping, and ominous clouds moving in.
At the saddle there is a rustic cabin for hikers. This is where a few trails also meet, including one that descends toward the main road running through the Rila valley. I decided to stop here and as soon as I was in the cabin, the cold rain started coming down.
The next day, I took that trail down into the valley. It was only 4.5 miles to where the road ends, but I took my time, taking 4 hours to traverse this stretch. It is an easy trail to move down, but I wanted to savor this and, particularly after dropping into the forest, I took my sweet as time.
At the end of the trail was a restaurant with a delightful woman managing it. Don’t count on English here, but you can always communicate what needs to be communicated. I managed to get some amazing lentil soup (meat free), and an omelet, and a beer.
I was worried about coming off the trail at some random spot, and during the week, being that I was probably 10 miles from Pastra (maybe 4 miles from the Monastery, where I could probably catch a cab). However, trusting in the trail gods, I had faith things would work out (they always do).
There was a lovely French couple who stopped for some coffee. I asked if they would mind giving me a ride back to Pastra. They enthusiastically said they would love to (thank you trail gods!) and, after their coffee and my meal, we headed back to Pastra doing much all we could to benefit the friendly, yet complicated, history of Franco-American relations.
