Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Activities
Hiking
The best map is probably
Vitosha Turisticheska Karta
(1:50,000), printed in Cyrillic and
available at bookshops around central Sofia.
Some of the shorter and more popular hikes around the park:
Aleko-Goli Vrâh
A short trail (30 minutes) between the top of the gondola from
Simeonovo and the chairlift from Dragalevtsi.
Aleko-Mt Cherni Vrâh
A popular, but steep, 90 minutes on foot. Alternatively, take
the chairlift from Aleko to within 30 minutes' walk of the summit.
Aleko-Zlatni Mostove
Follow the trail to Goli Vrâh, skirt around Mt Sredets (1969m)
and pass Hotel Bor; about three hours.
Boyana Church-Zlatni Mostove
At the church, ask for directions to the path that hugs
the Boyana River and leads to the 15m-high Boyana Waterfall (best in winter). From
there, obvious paths lead to Zlatni Mostove; about three hours in total.
Dragalevtsi chairlift-Goli Vrâh
Follow the chairlift from the bottom; a three-hour
steep climb.
Zlatni Mostove-Mt Cherni Vrâh
A challenging hike, via Kumata Hut and Mt Sedloto
(2018m); about three hours.
Skiing
At 1800m above sea level, Mt Vitosha is Bulgaria's highest ski resort and its six slopes are
only 22km from the centre of Sofia. There is rarely enough snow here before mid-Decem-
ber, but the season can often last into April.
The 29km of alpine ski runs (the longest is about 5km) range from easy to very diffi-
cult, and start as high as Mt Cherni Vrâh. Cross-country skiing is ideal along the 15km of
trails, and snowboarding is also possible. As well as the Simeonovo gondola and Dra-
galevtsi chairlift there is a handful of other chairlifts and draglifts. A one-day lift pass
costs 25 lv.
However, Mt Vitosha gets very crowded at weekends, the slopes are not always well
maintained and the quantity and quality of ski equipment for hire is not great because so
many locals use their own gear. The ski-rental shop at the start of the Simeonovo gondola
and the Aleko Ski Centre at Aleko both charge about 20 lv to 30 lv per day for a set of ski
gear. A snowboard and boots cost 25 lv per day.
