Rila National Park

[fusion_text]Rila National Park – the wanderer’s dream

This mountainous national park is the largest one in Bulgaria and is located at the Rila mountain range in the south-west of the country, spanning the area of 11 municipalities. About 66 % of its area is wooded.

Here is 100 mountain peaks rising over 2.000 meters, the highest elevation is at Mussala (2,925 meters above sea level) and the lowest at the area above Blagoevgrad (about 800 meters above sea level). This area is the real dream of the hiker, and in general elegant sight for an outdoorsy mind.

Wanna stay overnight?

The park offers 17 chalets and 4 lodges with capacity of 1,500 beds.

Glacial lakes

Glacial activity and erosion has made more than 120 permanent and some 30 seasonal glacial lakes in the mountain range of the park. One of the most picturesque and largest cirques is that of the Seven Rila Lakes.

Goritsa Waterfall

This majestetic , 39 meters high waterfall lies at the northern foot of the Rila mountain, near the village Ovchartsi. Аn аѕрhаlt rоаd ѕtаrtіng frоm thе vіllаgе сеntеr, gоеѕ tо thе wаtеrfаll. See map here.

Biodiversity

Five species of fish, 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, 48 species of mammals, and 99 species of birds represent the vivid and diversified fauna and a traveller can spot e.g. rock partridge, brown bear, chamois or European ground squirrel.

How to get there

The main entrances in the National Park are the resorts Borovets, Panichishte, Malyovitsa, Semkovo, Belmeken and Kostenets. Timetables of domestic public transportation are visible here.

More information: http://rilanationalpark.bg/en/

Text: Timo Hellman

Photos: Wikimedia Commons with CC licence / Eola, Klearchos Kapoutsis[/fusion_text]