Vitosha mountain, walking tours Sofia
Undoubtedly, to live in a big city, where life never seems to stop, and the city to be located at the foot of a mountain is considered lucky. Walking tours Sofia in Vitosha mountain is an act of relaxation. It’s a great opportunity to slow the pace down a little bit.
Vitosha mountain is one of the symbols of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The mountain is the fourth highest mountain in Bulgaria (after Rila, Pirin and Stara Planina mountains) and the oldest nature park on the Balkan Peninsula. It is also the only dome-shaped mountain of volcanic origin in the country. Vitosha has the shape of a big dome. Cherni Vrah (or Black Peak) is Vitosha’s highest peak (2290 m). It is one of the 10 peaks in Vitosha over 2000 m high. Characteristic of the mountain are the stone rivers. They are heapings of rock blocks, in the shape similar to that of a cube. They are a result of the water flowing which gradually smoothened their edges.
Bulgarian nature conservation society
In 1934, when the idea for nature conservation was not something people would think about, some Bulgarian nature conservation society made the move to declare part of Vitosha mountain a park. During the years the bounderies of the park have changed many times and the final result is the whole montain is a Nature Park today. Within the borders of the park there are 2 nature reserves, ‘Bistrishko Branishte’ and ‘Torfeno Branishte’ (The Peat Reserve). It is allowed for tourists to walk on the territory of ‘Bistrishko Branishte’ but not ‘Torfeno Branishte’ (walking tours Sofia).
There are 38 caves in the mountain. Vitosha mountain houses the longest and most interesting cave in Bulgaria, Duhlata, with a total length of 18 200 m. Its galleries are situated on seven floors with six underground rivers. The cave is rich in ponds, stalactites, stalagmites and many bizarre formations.
Vitosha mountain, educational site
Vitosha mountain is called ‘the lungs of Sofia’. Its well-developed tourist infrastructure with many huts (there are more than 20 working huts), paths and alleys; also the rich diversity of flora and fauna; the excellent conditions for trekking all the year round, ski sport in all of its varieties (there are 6 ski-run of 13.6 km total length), rock and ice climbing, paragliding, mountain biking, riding tours, and also for alternative, environment-friendly winter sports, such as snow-kiting, kite-winging, etc. As a result, Vitosha mountain is the best choice for one-and-more days hiking tours.
