Vitosha

Vitosha (Витоша) is a mountain in West-Central Bulgaria, overlooking the capital Sofia. Most of the mountain's territory comprises Nature Park Vitosha, and its proximity to the city have made it a favorite recreation spot of both citizens and visitors of the capital, providing opportunities for winter sports, hiking, biking, rock climbing, etc.

Understand
Vitosha rises directly south of Sofia, with the southern outskirts of the city encroaching onto its foothills. To the west, the Vladaya Saddle separates Vitosha from the smaller Lyulin mountain. To the east is the lower, spread-out mountain Plana, which in turn is separated by the river Iskar from the western part of the Sredna Gora Range. To the south, the elongated Verila mountain connects Vitosha to the rugged Rila, the highest mountain in Bulgaria.

History
Even after Sofia became the capital of newly liberated Bulgaria, it took more than a decade for its citizens to start appreciating the natural beauty of the mountain. The famous Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov (1863-1897) organized the first mass outing to Vitosha's highest peak in 1895. This lead directly to the establishment of first tourist association in the country, which later became the Bulgarian Tourist Union. That´s why the writer is considered the founder of organized tourism and the hikers' movement in Bulgaria. The Aleko Hut and Hotel Shtastlivetsa on Vitosha are named after him, and there's a bust monument of him on Cherni Vrah.

Nature Park Vitosha was established in 1934, making it the first nature park in Bulgaria and perhaps the first one on the Balkans. The same act also created the Bistrishko branishte nature reserve within the park; the Torfeno branishte reserve was established a year later. Between 1977 and 2021, Bistrishko branishte was in the list of biosphere reserves maintained by UNESCO, one of the 17 "old type" biosphere reserves in Bulgaria at the time.

Prominences

 * Cherni Vrah -
 * Kamen Del
 * Kominite
 * Kopitoto - TV tower
 * Reznyovete (the Rezens)
 * Ushite

Natural features

 * Boyana Waterfall
 * Stone rivers
 * Zlatnite Mostove
 * Aleko's Waterfalls
 * Bosnek Karst Area
 * Dragalevski Monastery (Monastery of Dragalevtsi)
 * Sources of the Struma (Strymon in Greece)

Do

 * Winter sports
 * Hiking
 * Mountain biking
 * Rock climbing

Sleep
Camping on the territory of the Park is prohibited. Most available lodgings are in the northern part of the mountain. Sadly, many of the old hiker huts no longer work, and some have been completely abandoned.

Hiker huts
These huts are officially associated with the Bulgarian Tourist Union.