Bulgaria is home to many major mountain ranges, spread across the four corners of the territory. It even hosts the highest point of the entire Balkan Peninsula: Mount Musala, at 2,925 m, which slightly surpasses Mount Olympus in Greece, although located further south (2,918 m). This peak is in the Rila massif, the most important in the country, just south of Sofia, the capital.
Further south extends the Pirin massif, also with imposing mountains and a remarkable high point, Vihren Peak, at 2,914 m. In the north of the country, a long mountain chain stretches from east to west with more moderate altitudes, around
2,300 m: the Stara Planina.
Finally, Bulgaria has many other secondary massifs, but far from anecdotal, such as the Rhodopes on the Greek border or the Vitosha, located at the gates of Sofia.
In this article, we have chosen to explore only the Rila massif, which alone has more than enough potential to occupy an entire trip — and much more.
The Rila, however, has a peculiarity: access is very limited in winter. Apart from a few resorts, it is difficult to easily approach the interesting slopes for skiing. It is therefore mainly by hiking from the ski lifts that we have explored the massif. A very effective approach, allowing to quickly gain altitude and chain many different slopes and peaks in a short time, while enjoying high-quality ski touring.
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