Absolute Bulgaria Adventure

No fresh snow and still good fun??
Forget the pistes with rocks and black ice.
Come snowshoeing away from the crowds.
The calm sunny weather is perfect for a day’s adventure above 2000 meters at Dobrinishte.
Just 30 minutes from Bansko.

Great to cut a trail through fresh snow!

Birth of a storm over the Pirin mountains this afternoon...the weather suddenly changed, the clouds were pregnant with thunder, and a pine scented wind, came roaring into the Bansko valley…

Bulgaria June 2017

THE DUKE of EDINBURGH’s INTERNATIONAL GOLD AWARD EXPEDITION - BULGARIA JUNE 2017
Straight from the 40c heat of a Middle East summer, 18 sixth form students and 3 teachers arrived from English College Dubai, into a cold, wet and windy night at Sofia Airport.
Once at their base at the Snow Pine & River Chalets in Bansko, and after a few hours rest, they ate a hearty breakfast before setting up and testing the equipment they would be using during the next 4 days of self-sufficient camping in the Rila Mountains. Supervisors then briefed the students on the terrain, weather and potential risks and discussed the planned routes with each of the 3 groups. Back packs were then ruthlessly culled of non-essential items to make space for food and water!
Preparation day is always a challenging time as the reality of 4 days long distance trekking and surviving in the wilderness kicks in !

Rila Hike 31st May - 1st June 2017

Hiked to Ivan Vazov Hut last week. This mountain refuge is located at 2306m near the Bistritsa River in Pazardere Valley, North-western Rila Mountains, close to the 7 Lakes. Originally built in 1939, the hut hosts people in dormitories, there are toilets and wash facilities, though no shower or hot water. Limited food and drinks are available, particularly in the spring time as pack horses are used for the provisioning and the mountain path is still too deep in snow until the middle of June. Expect to have to cross snow fields whilst hiking at this altitude during end May/early June so gaiters and high waterproof boots are needed to keep your feet dry through the melting snow and the run off.
There are two trails from Bistritsa (763m), one follows the river up the Pazedere Valley, whilst the other cuts up steeply through the forest and then once above the tree line skirts the edge of the mountains at 2000+ mtrs all the way to the hut, The mountain trail was longer and well-marked (21kms) whereas the valley trail (16kms) was technically more challenging. For route map and GPS waypoints visit www.absolutebulgaria.com

First hike of the season.
Spring came early and the crocuses were blooming well before Easter this year. The snow is still deep above 2000 meters however the lower trails were quite dry up to the snow line and not blocked by fallen trees like they were last year, because of the late wet snow. Enjoyed a 3½ hour hike through the forest in splendid isolation!

Managed a hike to Koncheto via Vihren on Sunday, whilst the weather was still good. Got a bit misty on the way down though!

We are launching an International Youth Awards program in Bulgaria this summer in partnership with www.adventure.ae

One of the many mountain bike trails near our base

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfbRrVSO9qI

Mountain Bike Bansko: The Flying Scotsman Trail Garmin GPS Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349437004 Wikiloc: http://el.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=4919722

Our adventure playground

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmEfrczx3-M

Rila & Pirin Mountains Bulgaria Rila & Pirin Mountains Bulgaria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quYGTtqGLvk

Rafting Struma river Bulgaria 31 May 2014

Great weather for hiking at altitude. Yesterday took the chairlift up to Bezbog hut to climb Polezhan, at 2851mtrs (9354 ft) the highest granite peak in the Pirin Mountains - and the fourth highest after Vihren, Kutelo and Banski Suhodol. With Ruth Hendry and Vancho Pernik we reached the summit in under 3 hours from Bezbog lake.

Unearthing Plovdiv, the modern heart of ancient Thrace Archaeologists uncover the shops and stadium of ancient Philippopolis – modern-day Plovdiv, Bulgaria – a city once governed by the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

Finally had an opportunity last Friday when the weather window opened up to hike up to Musala Peak (2915m). Here's my latest blog post on www.absolutebulgaria.com about the route and adventure, click below to find out more!

Hike to Musala : The highest peak in the Balkan Peninsula   Route from Borovets Resort: One has to go either by car (5 minutes) or by foot up the paved road from Borovets toward Bistrica village. If walking from Borovets pass the Mountain rescue squad base and walk further uphill untill you reach the point where Musalenska bistrica stream crosses your rout…

7 LAKES of RILA HIKE September 13th 2014
The 7 Lakes hike is one of the ‘must do’ hikes in Bulgaria, and being so close to Sofia is always a popular destination when the weather is good. The best time to avoid the crowds is to go mid-week or at the end of the summer, early autumn.
The easiest and fastest way to get to the hiking area is to take the chair lift (18 Lev return – USD 12.5) from Panichishte (less than 2 hours drive from Bansko). It’s a modern fast lift and gets you from 1520 to 2190 meters in less than 20 minutes. There were no queues early Saturday morning (we had left from a damp foggy Bansko at 6.30am) and the bright sunshine lifted the spirits and bode well for a day’s hiking.

Want to get out of the desert and into some clean mountain air for a few days at the next Eid holiday? Our Bulgaria mountain adventure package is very reasonable when combined with a Wizz Air flight from Dubai to Sofia.

RILA HIKE JUNE 2014
The clouds were low over the Pirin and the forecast was threatening rain and thunder on the peaks. With the summer heat just around the corner my feet were itching to get into their hiking boots.
It was a perfect day for hiking at low altitude. (1500/2000 mtrs)
The plan was to explore a section of the E4 trail which starts from Predala and heads towards Macedonia hut and then across the Rila range. Just for the records the E4 European long distance path or E4 path is one of the European long-distance paths. Starting at its westernmost point in Spain it continues through France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria to end in Greece. It visits the Greek island of Crete as well as Cyprus.
Its length is more than 10,000 km, but according to Wikipedia the route through Romania and part of Bulgaria is not yet completely defined
I love a challenge so was intrigued by the ‘not yet completely defined ’bit! (more to follow as I contiue to explore this trail)

Am planning a Rafting trip tomorrow on the Struma river leaving from Bansko at 11am. for 1pm Raft. see http://adventurenetbg.com.

Have two places in my car.

Anyone interested please call me on 0893 - 730723

Lets get wet !

View from 'Dead Dog' trail - Sat 31st May

Summer briefly arrived this week and finally got a chance to get out into the (lower) mountains. Hiked up to the ruins of the medieval fortress known as Sitan Kale. Trail is well marked.

some of the many highlights from the Bansko region