A HIKE TO HEAVEN: THE SEVEN RILA LAKES

By Julia Van Peer

"Picture a series of astonishingly beautiful glacial lakes, shimmering large and brilliantly blue in the afternoon sun, surrounded by vast stretches of mountains reaching further than the eye can see."

Located just a 2 -hour car drive from Sofia, the Rila National Park is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes, rare species of fauna and flora, and no less than 150 glacial lakes. With more than 100 peaks transcending 2 000 metres it is one of the largest National Parks of Europe.

After visiting this paradisiac mountain range you will always look back on these capturing views with love and happiness. One of countless hikes in the area is the famous ‘Seven Rila Lakes hike’, which will navigate you, as the name suggests, past 7 gorgeous postglacial lakes.

A bird's eye view over six of the seven magnificent lakes.

Embark on the journey at the Pionerska Mountain Lodge, a popular auberge amongst hikers, past the town of Sapareva Banya. Here two possibilities present itself, the first one being a bumpy ride on the panoramic ski lift, the other one being a tough buildup to the actual trail.

After a while both merge at the Rilski Ezera hut from where the 10 kilometres long trail commences. My recommendation would be to set out on the red trail to your right, as this direction will spoil you the longest with picturesque views over the lakes.

One of two lakes that make up 'The Twin' or Bliznaka.

After moving up through the dry grassy terrain, sprinkled with various rocks, the first lake looms around the corner. As each one of them has a distinct characteristic they were all given a unique nickname.

The first one encountered, called ‘The Kidney’ (or in Bulgarian Babreka), is evidently a bean-shaped water basin particularly calm and perfectly transparent. Henceforth the grass road will develop into a rock path that begins to ascent sharply towards the snow-capped mountains.

The trail guides you past the deepest lake, called ‘The Eye’ (Okomo), and ‘The Tear’ (Salzata), the highest one at 2 535 metres, from where you have bird’s-eye view over all seven wonders.

Babreka Lake, shaped like a kidney (or a bean) shines in the midday sun.

Standing a little higher than the latter an exceptional scene opens up. Picture a series of astonishingly beautiful glacial lakes, shimmering large and brilliantly blue in the afternoon sun, surrounded by vast stretches of mountains reaching further than the eye can see. This beauty is undeniable.

The four lower lakes connected to each other through pristine rivers.

Winding your way back following the exact same path you climbed up you will find yourself once again at ‘The Kidney’. This time you fork off the trail different from where you came from, to reach the fourth and largest one of all ‘The Twin’ (Bliznaka). Both ‘The Eye’ and ‘The Tear’ drain separately in the aforementioned.

This still leaves you with ‘The Trefoil’ (Trilistnika), ‘The Fish Lake’ (Ribnoto Ezero) and ‘The Lower Lake’ (Dolnoto Ezero) to come, respectively the one with an irregular form, the shallowest, and the lowest one. In between these reservoirs you can find Sedemte Ezera, the most adorable mountain cottage, ideal to order a well-earned beer before descending all the way down.

Relaxing at Sedemte Ezera, whilst overlooking the lowest lake of seven, Dolnoto Ezero.

Looking back up the recently descended mountain slope you will notice pristine rivers flowing down their sides, connecting all seven lakes. Rightly so, this is one of the best-known hikes in the Balkan Peninsula.

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