Vitosha Nature Park

Overview

Vitosha is the first park in Bulgaria and on the Balkan Peninsula.

Vitosha National Park with the reserves within it was proclaimed in 1934 by a decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property, its total area then covered  6 410 hectares.

Vitosha mountain dominates the views from Sofia and can be seen from all over the city. Even in June, it has snow on the top. During the winter it is only a 20-minute drive to the ski slopes. While it lacks modern ski lifts and does not have many kilometers of slopes (in contrast with other stations in Bulgaria), there is something very authentic about the experience in Vitosha. During the summer, it has proven to be the perfect place to spend the weekend, go hiking, and get some magnificent views of the city. Sofia is one of few capitals where you can take public transport to hike such a beautiful mountain range.

Vitosha is a complex and very interesting natural park from a geological, petrographic, biological, zoological, and tourist point of view. Its great natural diversity of springs, rivers, waterfalls, peat bogs, moraines, and forests has always attracted and interested nature lovers.

The first guided tour to Cherni Vrah was on August 28, 1895. This is actually how organized tourism in Sofia has started. The famous Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov managed to convince around 300 people to leave the ‘dusty streets’ and ‘stuffy cafes’ of Sofia and get a refreshing walk from the city centre to the top of the mountain – Cherni Vrah (Black Peak). In front of the National Theatre, there’s a stone that marks the starting point of this tour.