Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains - Romania and Bulgaria - page 681

Despite the inevitable incursions of modern development, the permanently open Rila
National Park remains a sanctuary for wildlife and flora, comprising 144 sq km of forest
and 130 sq km of alpine pastures. Its fir trees, beechwoods and other conifers provide a
peaceful habitat for deer, wild goats, eagles, falcons and more. Mt Musala (2925m), near
Borovets, is Bulgaria's (and the Balkans') highest peak, and offers excellent hiking.
Mountain huts (hizhas) provide simple accommodation (from about 10 lv per person),
sometimes serving meals (but do bring extra food).
Invaluable for hikers is Julian Perry's Mountains of Bulgaria , which details an extens-
ive north-south trek (part of the trans-European E4 trek) across the Rila Mountains. It
starts at Klisura and finishes at Hizha Predel, near Razlog, and takes from seven to 10
days. For serious hiking, you'll need Kartografia's Rila map (1:55,000), with place names
in Cyrillic.