Mountain guide · 30 minutes from the centre
The mountain on Sofia’s doorstep: Aleko and the ski slopes, the walk to Cherni Vrah at 2,290 metres, the Boyana Waterfall and Dragalevtsi Monastery.
Day trip feature
Half an hour from the café terraces of Vitosha Boulevard, you can be walking in pine forests, skiing or standing on a peak of 2,290 metres.
Ride up to Aleko, walk to Cherni Vrah on a clear day, find the Boyana Waterfall in the forest and visit the hidden Dragalevtsi Monastery.
Read the full back story below, then plan your day.
The back story
The mountain on Sofia’s doorstep: the oldest nature park in the Balkans, a peak of 2,290 metres, forests, waterfalls and monasteries, half an hour from the centre.
The heart of the mountain
The centre of Vitosha at about 1,800 metres, with mountain huts, ski slopes and the start of the walk to Cherni Vrah.
2,290 metres
The highest point of Vitosha, at 2,290 metres, a walk of a couple of hours from Aleko.
A forest walk
A waterfall in the forest above Boyana, reached by a walk of about two hours from the edge of the city.
A monastery in the forest
A 14th-century monastery hidden in the forest above Dragalevtsi, with a frescoed church.
A river of boulders
A stone river of giant rounded boulders on the slopes of Vitosha.
Bus, taxi or lift
Buses and taxis run from the city up to Aleko; lifts from Simeonovo and Dragalevtsi run when in service.
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