An exciting journey to the most beautiful mountain peaks in Bulgaria awaits you!
This book is a practical guide containing technical information and original articles describing the stages of the Bulgarian section of the E-4 Trans-European hiking route. Its total length is 260 kilometers, and the trip takes 13 to 15 days if the stages are completed consecutively without a break. The texts were written from spring through winter of 2017. During this period, the project’s creator, Iva Petroni, and her team—which included professional mountain guides—undertook a trek along the entire route in Bulgaria.

The publication includes a wealth of photographs from the mountain adventures.
The stories are illustrated with photos taken specifically for this project by photographer Dimitar Aleksov, who traveled the entire route as part of the team.

This is the story of an incredible adventure spanning 260 kilometers, five mountains, a total of about two weeks of hiking, and some of the most beautiful and breathtaking views one can enjoy in Bulgaria.

Iva Petroni will be your guide for the Bulgarian section of the European tourist route E-4, which passes through Vitosha, Verila, Rila, Pirin, and Slavyanka. The route through the five mountains passes not only by popular tourist destinations such as Cherni Vrah, the Seven Rila Lakes, Malyovitsa, Vihren, Koncheto, and Tevno Lake, as well as through less-visited but equally magical places such as the hard-to-reach Kapatnik Peak and the fairy-tale-like landscape between the “Predel” and “Yavorov” huts.

This guide is intended for people who may not be able to complete the entire journey in one go—whether due to a lack of time or insufficient preparation. That is why each of the 13 stages of the route is described as a separate trip, easily completed in a day or two, with all the necessary information for the hike—GPS coordinates, ways to reach the starting and ending points without a car, places to stay, where to get water and food, as well as other attractions in the area that are worth visiting. The book also includes helpful diagrams, maps, and safety tips for the mountains, as well as information about potential problems with cell phone reception.

In addition to these, in this book you’ll read stories about the people I met in the mountains. Told in a personal and compelling way, these stories are about the more difficult climb—the one inside the human soul.

Contents:

Vitosha
Beliefs
Rila
Pirin
Slavianka
First Aid in the Mountains