25/08/2022 - Rila National Park / Bulgaria (306 kilometers)

We had another night in Sofia, so we had the whole day today and we preferred to spend it in nature rather than in the city. The largest national park in Bulgaria is the Rila National Park, established in 1992, with an area of over 80,000 hectares, located in the Rila Mountains. South of Sofia, on the densely wooded slopes of the Rila Mountains, is the Monastery of St. Ivan of Rila. Surrounded by mist, we drove through the mountains. Curve after curve, we ascended higher and deeper into the mountains. Suddenly, we were in a parking lot and arrived at the entrance of the monastery. We put on long pants and a jacket, as it was quite chilly up here at 1200 meters. We entered the monastery through an arched entrance and found ourselves in the middle of the huge monastery courtyard. Right in front of us was a church and a medieval tower, surrounded by the four-storey residential part of the monastery, which also forms the wall. Particularly worth seeing are the frescoes, icons, and the architecture of the monastery. The history of the monastery is over 1000 years old, and since 1983 it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest monastery in Bulgaria and one of the largest Orthodox monasteries in the world, and is now well-known beyond the borders of Bulgaria. Nevertheless, it is still a place of peace amidst the steep slopes of the Rila Valley. The 7 Rila Lakes are not far away as the crow flies. However, it took us about an hour by car. Then we took a 30-minute chairlift ride up to 2000 meters. And then finally our hiking boots came into play and accompanied us to discover 5 of the 7 lakes. We had a beautiful tour through the misty-mystical landscape here. We drove back to Sofia and after today's day, we deserved a delicious dinner. We got that at the old Bulgarian restaurant "Under the Linden". All tables except two were reserved. So we were really lucky and enjoyed delicious traditional dishes.