Vitosha Nature Park, Sofia, Bulgaria - Trail Running
Last week, so mid-May, I hit some trails just outside of the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. It was my first time in this lovely city and country. I was surprised at how beautiful and comfortable this city felt. The factors were cozy cafes, well-run public transportantion, clean city streets, gorgeous historic buildings, tree-lined streets, and a view of snowcapped mountains in the distance.
View of the mountains from the town center.
I noticed on Google Maps that this big nature park was just outside the city so I found some trails on All Trails app and plugged the trailhead into maps to see whether public transportation would take me there. There is!
For one of the trails, a single tram transported me from the city center of Sofia right to the trail head in under 30 minutes. This felt luxurious!
Княжево - Златните мостове (Knyazevo - The Golden Bridges) Trail
This ended up being 10 miles / 16 kms according to my Garmin watch with 2,713’ (827m) of elevation gain.
It felt very steep at first but I was able to pick up my pace after warming up for a few miles.
One thing I loved about the trails there was the abundance of water stations. It was nice not to have to bring a lot of water with me. I brought a small handheld running water bottle that attaches to the hand.
This is the sparkling tram that took me to and from the trailhead. You can just scan Apple Pay or your credit card when you get on the tram which is amazing! Figuring out how to buy bus/tram tickets is always stressful because there aren’t readily available pay stations as with an underground metro. There’s also an app called MPass that makes it easy. Bravo, Sofia! Thanks for making public transportation so seamless!
Boyana Waterfalls Trail
All Trails Link - this ended up being 6 miles / 10 km for me, starting from where the bus dropped me off and choosing to extend the hike by choosing a bigger loop. 2438’ (743m) of elevation gain.
This one was very steep on the way up and required some rock scrambling. It was so beautiful as the trail followed the waterfall all the way up. The waterfall kept getting more and more spectacular as I climbed. There was also a view of the city from up top.
