Day hike from Vratsa, Bulgaria

We were in Vratsa for two full days. The first day we went on a day hike in the nearby Vrachanski Balkan Nature Reserve. Our hike started with a walk to the nearby village of Zgorigrad. From there a trail went to seasonal waterfall. At this time of year the creek was already dry. The trail, known as the Vrachanski Ecotrail, had been built in 1999 included a lot of wooden stairs, ladders, and walkways to get over otherwise difficult hiking terrain. From the top of the waterfall the trail went through forests and meadows. Along the way we were stalked by sheep dogs, lost the trail a number of times, and eventually followed a very steep direct trail back to civilization (which amounted to sliding down a gully for and hour and a half). Our reward was supper at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant surrounded by the mountains.

Cliffs outside of Vratsa

Zgorigrad

Zgorigrad

Farmstead in the middle of nowhere. When we got close, the sheep dogs started barking and then continued to follow us for at least a kilometer after we has passed by.

Vratsa, Bulgaria

We took the train from Sofia to Vratsa. Vratsa is a town of about 70,000 on the edge of a plains and the Balkan Mountains. Our hotel was a little worn, but for $36 per night including breakfast, we are not complaining.

On the train

Our hotel

Street scenes

Bike & walking path outside Vratsa

Bulgarian barbeque

A not uncommon scene

Other things in Sofia

Hike in Vitosha Nature Park

Vitosha Nature Park is a mountainous area just outside Sofia with a number of hiking trails. An old rugged looking city bus travels up a winding road to the Aleko ski lodge well up the mountain. From there we hiked up into the alpine and eventually took a chairlift back down.

At the bottom, we visited the Dragalevtsi Monastery and then caught another old bus back into Sofia.

City parks in Sofia