Bulgaria is a country where you can find mountains wherever you go. The perfect place for mountaineers who love nature. Some of the best-known routes or peaks are the 7 Rila Lakes, the peak of Musala or Cherni Vrah, the closest to Sofia. However, there are many other options, in this case, we are talking about Black Rock in Borovets, in the Rila mountains.
How to get from Sofia to Borovets? We head to the South bus station, at the Joliot Curie metro station. There we take a bus to Samokov for 4 leva, they leave all day. After an hour and a half, approximately, we will have reached Samokov, a small mountain town. From Samokov to Borovets there are two options: bus or taxi. The last bus leaves at 5:30 p.m. (information for October 2021), so if you don't get to catch the bus, you will have to take a taxi for approximately 20 leva.
In Borovets you have to sleep one night, in Booking, you can find very cheap options out of season since Borovets in ski season receives a lot of tourism. In low season you can find an apartment for 70 leva for 4 people. In the town, there are not many shops, so if you want something specific to take to the mountains, you better buy it in Sofia or Samokov.
The Black Rock route is very simple, with no long climbs or dangerous areas. A route that can be done with family or friends and that will not take you more than 3 and a half hours, depending on how many stops you make to take photos. Where does the route start? You must go to the Hotel Festa Winter Palace, and follow the route on the right bordering the hotel. At this point, you can already find a route sign.
All the way you find signs, so it is almost impossible to get lost. After an hour and a half you arrive at Black Rock with incredible views. Legend says that during the Ottoman Empire prisoners were brought to this point and pushed into the abyss.
Once at Black Rock, you can follow the route to go around the mountain or go back the same way. We did not choose any of the options, we went up, then we skirted the river until we found our way again. A route is not recommended if you do not take someone who is very well oriented in the mountain and you are not willing to get completely dirty.