June 2019
From the Rila Mountains to Sofia the capital, between amazing monasteries, frescos to stunning walking trails. It’s not surprising that Bulgaria became so popular, Bulgaria offers nice beaches on the west side of the country, to picturesque villages and sites for nature lovers.
I that visit I been traveled in the Rila mountains and the capital Sofia, I Had only 1 week in the country.
Important to know –
- Local sim – I highly recommend to purchase a local sim in Bulgaria but not in the airport because it’s really expensive in there, it is better to buy in the closest mall “The mall”, the price in “Vivacom “ is 8 Lev it is around 4$ for 6 GB package with domestic calls.
- 1$ = 1.8 Lev
- Car rental – The prices in Bulgaria are pretty cheap and this is a good way to go around the country. All the companies are located in Terminal 2.
How to reach the city center of Sofia from the Airport?
1) Taxi – the price is between 10-15 Lev
2) Metro – the taxies are so cheap, and I commend to avoid the metro.
Sofia
Sofia is clean and beautiful but in my opinion, 2 days in the city are more than enough, yea there is great restaurants and casinos if you looking for but its better in my opinion in invest the time in Bulgaria nature.
What to do in Sofia?
- Sofia synagogue
- Sofia’s Central Market Hall
- Bells park
- The big mosque
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – Sofia symbol, this is an amazing Cathedral, don’t miss it
- The Women market – cheap prices
- Sense Hotel Roof bar – a great place to grab a beer at night with a nice panoramic view
- Vitosha Boulevard
- The central park – close Vitosha boulevard
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Where to eat in Sofia?
- Happy grill bar – there is a few Happy grill bar in the city, the prices are cheap and there is a variety of dishes
- Hadjidragonov’s house – a traditional restaurant that got famous due to Its unique design
- Taj mahal – nice Indian restaurant
- Be a local – if you want to eat in the early morning like the locals you can go out and eat a fresh banitsa with yogurt and spinach
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Where to sleep in Sofia?
Sofia central – nice apartment in the city center
Rila national park
Two hours from the Capital Rila national park is located and this is one of the most beautiful areas in the country! a lot of trails and wood cabins, the most famous trail in this area is the 7 lakes trail.
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The 7 lakes trail or 5 its depends on you 🙂
So basically this trail split for a few options and the difficulty is between easy to medium, everyone can reach a few lakes pretty easily, the 2 other lakes who are the sixth and the seventh are a bit higher and the hiking is a bit harder to there.
7 lakes or 5 lakes trek is for a day tour and not more than that, but of course, if you want to get continue to other treks and attached them it’s possible to do a few days of hiking.
Where to start?
There is a cable car that you can take to where the hiking begins but in some part of the year, this cable car is inactive (in those time there is donkeys and jeeps). The price is 20 Lev for a round trip and its around 20 minutes of climbing.
Pay Attention!
From the winter until July there is snow on the trail, until May it’s may cause danger in the higher lakes, so it is safer to avoid in this period unless you got permits and the right equipment
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The Shorter trail 5 lakes –
3-4 hours of walking, you will see 5 lakes and amazing views! This is a circuit trail.
The longer trail 7 lakes –
This trail is around 6 hours, in this Trek, you will see 7 lakes, after the big lake you need to climb to see the higher lakes, the highest lake is around 2500M above sea level and it’s may cause a headache. This trail is not circuit and basically, after the big lake you need to climb to the higher lakes and to go back on the same route
Rila monastery – one of the impressive monasteries that I ever sew I recommend visiting there.
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Where to sleep in the Rila area?
- Sapareva Banya town – a nice town in the Rila area, there is also a Geyser in there, if you are staying in this town while you in the Rila area I recommend Rado pizzeria is an awesome restaurant.
- Panichishe – if I’m in nature, I do like to stay in some remote areas and not in the main town, Panichishe village it’s a nice option because Panichishe is close to the trail of the 7 lakes and its surrounded by forest.
Cheap hostel in there – Hotel Panorama, they also got a nice restaurant in the hostel.
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More in Bulgaria –
Bansko – for ski lovers, one of the cheapest ski sites in Europe.
Beaches on the Black sea – Burgas, and Varna are the most popular.
Short but enough, I hope that this post helped you, for more follow me on Instagram @Bestravelife 🙂
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