Stara Planina or The Balkan ridge hike

The Kom-Emine hike is among the most popular hikes in Bulgaria. It's a more than 600km long contiguous high mountain path that stretches from west to the east - terminating on the black sea cost on cape Emine along the ridge of the Balkan mountains (aka Stara Planina).
I hiked along the highest and most scenic part of the trail - from the town of Klisura up to Shipka pass. The whole hike took me four days, the first two days walking with my friends from Israel and the second two days walking solo.
This time I am just uploading the pictures, so you can appreciate the views and maybe get some inspiration to hike the area.

Day one: From town of Klisura to Kozya Stena hut (via hut Echo).

Near hut Echo

Day two: From Kozya Stena to Hut Dobrila

In the end of day my friends were so exhausted to they had to stop walking and after a stay at hut Dobrila - took the a ski lift down to the town of Sopot, and
from there to Plovdiv.

Day three - from Hut Dobrila to hut Tazha via Botev Peak
It was the longest and hardest day. Most of the high mountain pass was covered in snow, and most of the time I was either climbing up or running. I hiked in the beginning of may, after very snowy winter, the path should be much easier in the summer (then it should take about 12 hours according to local guidebooks).

Fourth day. From Tazha to Shipka pass
This part of the trail goes through the central Balkan national reserve

From Shipka pass I hitch-hiked to Karlovo and from there continued to Plovdiv to join my friends for another day and a half.

Rhodopes (2) - Smolyan, waterfals and Marvelous Bridges

At first I planned to stay in Smolyan just for the night and resume the hike northbound the next morning, but after reading a bit about the surroundings and the city I decided to stay for two nights. One of the interesting landmarks in the area was a small natural reserve called waterfalls canyon which I visited next morning, but I also hiked around the city a later during the day and enjoyed great food and beer at night. 

Smolyan centre

 Cathedral of Saint Vissarion

The next day, despite the heavy snow in the morning I started my hike to the the waterfalls. Soon the snow turned to a rain and after some time the skies cleared and a beautiful day was ahead of me.

Orpheus waterfall

View on Smolyan from waterfalls canyon hike

The waterfall canyon was a short but a very scenic hike, and because of the weather and the season, I was there all alone - which made it even more enjoyable. I learned that there was a foot path from Perelik to Smolyan that passed the waterfall's trail so it is probably a better way down to Smolyan than what I did the day before. During the second half of the day I was wandering in the forests nearby the city, enjoying the warmer weather and the silence in the woods.

Pretty much the whole town of Smolyan

I had a very pleasant dinner in the evening (a place called Rodopchanka with live Pianist and great food) and on the next morning I took a bus to a town called Chapelare resuming my hike from there. It was a snowy day and the higher I climbed from Chepelare into the Rhodope mountains the stronger it snowed and windier it got. I saw a lot of fresh tracks of animals in the snow, and later some big mammals (deers or elks) - which I even managed to photograph somehow.

The path was harder to follow, and I decided to carve my way downwards to village Hvoina where I rested for the night. I stopped in a small family hotel, where I and some workers that were fixing a road nearby were the only guests. The owner was an extremely interesting and nice man, who tried to talk me out of hiking through the forest, we had an interesting conversation about his life and he was eager to hear about me. I told him about my plans for the next day. Later, he said that the village's Mayor, who is a also a hunter urged him to convince me not to go to the forest because the forests were full of wolves and bears. On the next day he gave me a short ride back south and I hiked from there to another great wonder of nature in the area - Chudnite Mostove - huge hollow natural caves or "bridges" carved by an ancient river from in the mountains.

Marvelous Bridges

Marvelous Bridges

I enjoyed the view near the Bridges, hiked and walked towards the "Roman's road" - an historical landmark that is located nearby and started my way back directly to Hvoina, despite the wolves and the Bears. Going down was pretty easy and I managed to catch a bus and arrive to Plovdiv before dark. That was my second time there - but the first was only short overnight stay on my way to Rhodopes.

Rhodopes - mountains, rivers and caves

After leaving Bucharest and staying for a night in Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv (adventures for another post) I was more than eager to finally do some hiking again and my first goal was a few days hut to hut trip in the Rhodope Mountains. I walked from Plovdiv old town to the smaller, calmer and cleaner autogara Rhodopi (bus station with local buses), and hopped on the minibus that was supposed to stop near a place called Teshel, where my hike was about to begin the next day. The road was beautiful in the mountainous area. There were high vertical cliffs and walls, quick rivers and all shades of green and blue. I was thinking that this place could easily become a climber's paradise. Soon it started to chill with every kilometre we passed and finally after more than enough hours in the minibus I thanked the driver and started walking to hut Teshel, where I hoped to stay for the night.

Mountain road

I arrived not long before dark, and somehow was able to arrange my stay and supper, not before being questioned thoroughly about how I arrived to Bulgaria. Maybe because the hut is close to the Greek border, maybe because the hut lady was surprised to see out of season solo hiker. I was also surprised to see again the American tourist which I met on train to Veliko Tarnovo, who was just leaving with two of his Bulgarian friends. They told me that it's about to be some kind of a party in the hut (and it indeed was a birthday celebration for a little girl - apparently it's a thing in Bulgaria to celebrate social events in reachable by car huts). I myself had my beer and an excellent supper and went to sleep after congratulating the family and thanking the hosts.
The next morning I thought that it would be nice to pay a visit the the Yagodinska cave located about seven km from the hut. The road was very scenic and went through Trigrad Gorge - an very narrow road surrounded by vertical walls.

Road to Yagodniska cave

I arrived well before the first tour time so decided to cook myself breakfast - which was the wisest of decisions as you will see later. I almost turned to skip the cave tour  but luckily met the tour guy and decided wait a little longer. The cave itself was pretty interesting even though the tour was in Bulgarian. Unfortunately the pictures from the cave itself were of the worst quality.

Inside Yagodinska Cave

After the cave I found a hiking trail to my next stop - Devil's throat cave near hut Trigrad. It was a pretty hike with a considerable ascent in a very beautiful forest area. I managed to come just in time for the two o'clock tour of the cave. I liked the Devil's throat more even more than Yagodinska since it looked much wilder with the waterfall, the underground river and the area nearby was breathtaking.

Natural exist of the cave

Underground river

Near Devil's throat cave

I planned to stay in a hut named Chairski Ezera, and after some time found a hike path leading there. The hike was clearly marked, and there were waterfalls and a lot of scenic cliffs on the way. It started snowing but wasn't cold and I really liked the weather.
After finishing the last few hundred meters climb towards the hut, I found that the it was actually still closed. Well that's what you get when you decide to hike out of season. I wasted some time making sure that I didn't miss the hut (and the GPS location seemed a bit wrong), and was almost knocked down by a huge dog from a farmhouse nearby while trying to find somebody and ask him whether the hut actually closed or the keeper just went somewhere and can return any minute (according to local websites the hut was supposed to be open, but apparently the websites were outdated).

Chairski Ezera area

Chairski Ezera area

After some time I decided that my best option to sleep in a warm bed that night was to get to the village of Mugla and try to find there a place to stay. Actually that's a nice thing about Rhodopes. The nature is wild and beautiful but the area is populated and you can find places to stay within a few hours walking or running distance from most of the hiking trails. Or you can just bring a tent and camp. Since was packed pretty light and obviously had no tent - my best shot was Mugla.
The trail to mugla was scenic but since I was almost running couldn't appreciate it too much, except for the part that was covered with about 40cm snow that really slowed my progress (and was much more energy consuming of course).

On my way to Mugla

I arrived to the village in twilight, and after crossing the village two times looking for a guesthouse (and getting pretty contradicting directions from the residents), a very nice old lady showed me to the door of a welcoming family guesthouse where I was able to find a meal, bed and even hot shower. My hosts - an old lady name Veselina Pavlova and her husband didn't speak Russian too well but they warned me that most of the huts are still closed and that there is still pretty much snow higher in the mountains (near Perelik mountain where I planned to hike further) and urged me to continue tomorrow to village of Gela. I decided to decide later - after having a good sleep, and had some Rakia with Veselina's husband instead. Even though I was pretty hungry (last time I ate was in the morning before entering the first cave) - it was impossible to finish all of the food that my hosts tried to stuff me with.
In the morning I stuffed myself with a very heavy breakfast and some tea (always eat when you have food - remember?), and decided to try my luck with ascend to Mt. Perelik (the highest peak in Rhodopes) anyway.

Mugla, next moring

The snow was still frozen from the night and it was easy to walk (even but still in a pretty steep uphill slope). I tried to call hut Perelik on my way to check if it's open, but had no reception. I prepared myself to the thought that it is closed and just walked faster. The views were getting better and better the higher I got, and the last hour before getting to Perelik I was almost running.

View on hut Ledinitsata from above

Near hut Perelik

As I anticipated, the hut was half buried in snow and appeared closed. Since it was still very early I decided to keep going, thinking to stop for the night in Smolyan and continue from there on the next day.

Perelik hut

Soon after the hut - a dirt road started, that turned to a regular road after a few km. I was lucky enough to catch a ride to Smolyan - the largest city in the area. Near Smolyan I hiked in the waterfalls canyon (highly recommended) and resumed my trip heading north, but that's already another story.

Brasov, Bucharest and other

Brașov is probably the most toured place in Romania, and the city indeed has a lot to offer: an interesting and live old town,a castle on a hill nearby , mount Tampa and its forest - adjacent to the old town . In winter there is also some skiing activity in the area.
Brasov was my second favourite non-mountain hut stay in Romania, loosing the first place only to the lovely town of Sinaia and its natural reserves. The city had this great holiday atmosphere and was full of people probably because it was Easter time - or maybe its the regular thing there.

Old town. Black church in the background

Spring fair in the old city

View from mount Tampa

Hike on mount Tampa

While staying in Brasov you could go to a hike in the morning, have a picnic on mount Tampa in the afternoon and walk in the old city and enjoy a meal in a restaurant in the evening. If you plan to travel in Romania then Brasov is probably the best place to on your journey from Bucharest to north or on your way back. The city is located in Transylvania region so you can enjoy some local cuisine which is basically a mix of Romanian food (which is in turn was influenced by the Turks) and Hungarian cuisine. I could have easily spent more time in Brasov but my friend was about to fly home from Bucharest and I intended to catch there a train to Bulgaria - resuming my trip solo.
One of the great things about travelling in eastern Europe is that you usually don't have to worry about booking your trains or buses ahead. The prices are moderate even on foreign buses and trains and you can be very flexible with your journey. So after arriving to Bucharest I just bought a ticket to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria for the next day (I could get to Sofia but it mean to spend too much time on the train and from what I read in the internet VT could be a nice place to spend a day or two).

Sping in Bucharest

Bucharest old town

Bucharest - communism free zone

I spend my last day in Bucharest just wandering around the city - enjoying the parks and the restaurants. Romania is a country so often slipped by travellers for no obvious reason, and even if people visit it they usually stick to Bucharest and maybe Brasov, skipping the national parks and places like Cluj and Sigisoara. I was exploring it for only two weeks and I am sure there are tons of places that are worth visiting - such as the countries north-west regions and the Danube delta. But for now I was already sitting in the train, heading to the danube bridge to cross to the Bulgarian side.

Built in beer opener in the wagon. Very handy.