Hiking and Hotsprings, the best of Bulgaria

My face is pressed into broken chunks of white marble, my arms spread eagled as a light breeze reminds me of what I already know. I focus on slow calm breaths. My fear of heights is a reasonable fear of falling great distances, but it’s inconvenient when climbing mountains. I should have remembered that hiking in Europe generally involves sections which would be considered madness in the US. Of course I love everything about this, just not in this exact moment.

My friend checks in from above, where she scrambled up like a mountain goat, reminding me we can go back at any point. I shout back that I’m fine and absolutely not going down this. She misses my joke that I am making sweet, sweet love to the rocks, but catches that our friendship could be in peril. I don’t believe her claim that she is also afraid of heights anymore. She grew up hiking these mountains with her family and is in her happy place. I flew in 24 hours ago and am out of shape, for which I have only myself to blame.

Moving one limb at a time, breathing deeply, I make it over the rock nose and to the next chain. Grateful for the handhold, I pull myself up the chains bolted to the rock face. The upside to fear is that the last portion of the hike is painless, fueled by pure adrenaline. My fatigue is temporarily forgotten as we reach the summit of Vihren, the second tallest mountain in Bulgaria at 9,560 feet, and third tallest in the Balkans. It is the gem of the Pirin Mountains, a Unesco World Heritage site in the southwest of the Bulgaria. Bankso and Banya, popular resort town towns sit in the valley below us, nestled between the Pirin, Rila and Rhodope Mountains. Multi day hut to hut, guided, or single day options, easy or difficult - Bulgaria is a nature lovers feast. And perhaps best of all, Bulgaria is second only to Iceland for the number of hot springs.

Before befriending Bulgarian expats in the US, I knew very little about the small mountainous country. A fan of the fresh veg centered cuisine from our gatherings, when Didi invited me to come hiking with her family I was in. You never say no when a friend and local offer to host you.

We are staying with her parents in Banya (Bulgarian for bath) at the lovely Hot Springs Medical and Spa. In the small old town, each house hosts at least one white storks’ nest, which are auspicious. And modern hotels with hot springs are popping up daily, next to ancient ruins of Roman and Ottoman era baths. Located at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Bulgaria has been inhabited for millennia. I have been dreaming of the hotel's mineral water hot tub and cold plunge ever since my hip flexors started protesting the vertical climb an hour ago.

But for now, the valley is spread out below us, to our right the Bankso Ski area descends, and the white marble of the Pirin Mountain range spreads out in both directions, sheer and wild. The view is well worth the hike.

Vihren means windy, and August weather can be volatile, so we continue down the other side without stopping on to the Vihren Chalet. The descent is an endless irregular stone staircase, making the New Englander in me feel at home. But as we reach the first saddle the clouds coalesce into a dark thunder head. We pick up our pace as thunder rumbles, aiming for the safety of the klej scrub brush pines (pronounced kleg) which crowd the bottom third of the trail. We pause briefly to watch a lone chamois, a goat antelope eating, unbothered by the weather and the cascade of hikers now fleeing off the bald summit of the mountain. As the thunder increases we reach the relative safety of klej, and I realized that my legs are wobbly. But Vihren Chalet is in sight and we awkwardly make our way the last few hundred feet as the rain unleashes.

Hikers are huddled under the chalet's generous roof happily drinking beers, but we are on autopilot. At the start of our hike Didi told me about the delicious food at the otherwise basic Banderitsa Chalet, where her parents await us, so we put on our trash bag rain ponchos and use the alpine meadows to stretch our tired legs as sheep’s bells ring off the slopes above.

Our last stop is the Baikushev's pine. The Bosnian pine is one of the oldest trees in the world, estimated to be more than 1,300 years, almost as old as Bulgaria. Although the tree lost a major branch in a storm recently it is still majestic with gnarly ancient roots spread out across the rocky slopes. It is amazing to imagine all this tree has witnessed, empires rising and falling, world wars, mechanization and industrialization, communism and now climate change.

As the rain picks up, we head the last few hundred feet past a cemetery for fallen climbers and into the chalet and food. The heavenly mushroom soup, mountain herbal tea and fresh bread provide warmth as the rain picks up. We polish off fig ice cream and feeling sore but accomplished.

Back in Banya we rinse off the sunscreen, sweat and grime and toss our sore bodies into the mineral waters of the hotel. Although the pool is filled with families with shrieking children, the warm mineral water is relaxing. In the distance across the valley Vihren stands tall and fierce. Scary heights, sore muscles and all, it’s amazing what the human body can do. I sigh and decide it’s time to head inside for a round in the sauna, hammam and steam room in preparation for our next hike.

ADVICE

We hike a loop starting at the Banderitsa Chalet (5,971 feet.)  Driving up early before the road closes at 8am, we climb through the beautiful pine forest before reaching the high alpine terrain of “the little soup bowl” and then “the big soup bowl.” We only saw two hikers on this route and the early start allowed us to beat most of the weather while experiencing lots of different terrain. Crossing over the top of Vihren we descend the opposite site to the Vihren Chalet. Most hikers seem to be coming up the other way, either just going up from Vihren Chalet and back or, maybe down the side we came up, which seems brutal. I would recommend the counterclockwise route we did.

A somewhat similar hike on all trails, this is starting at Vihren Chalet not Banderitsa Chalet, but we did the same descent. You will see Banderista first when you drive up the road, just after the campsite.

English speaking hiking guides are also available in Bansko and very commonly used by locals and foreigners alike.

A great day off trip Four Paws Bear Sanctuary Belitsa. Former Dancing Bears (illegal since 2007) find refuge in 20 acre forested pens where they can interact or hide from guests who learn about the history and needs of the bears. (The road was under construction when we visited, and only open certain hours, so check the website)