Rila Monastery & Seven Lakes
I found myself in Sofia for no reason other than I found a super cheap ticket from Cyprus. There’s a handy website called greatescape.co where you put in your departure airport and dates and the site populates all of your different options based on price. It’s great for when you don’t know where you want to go but you know when you’re trying to get there.
When I arrived in Sofia I still had a decent walk to get to my hostel. I was staying at Hostel Mostel, which is a phenomenal hostel in Sofia. A bed was only €10/night, and that included breakfast and dinner. They also organized transportation to Rila Monastery as well as the Rila Seven Lakes. When I arrived I was greeted by a bunch of kittens hanging out front by the cars.
If you know you want to do both activities while in Bulgaria I would recommend finding a tour that includes both. You’ll save a lot of time in the car. The other option would be to spend the night in Rila to give you access to both the monastery and the Seven Rila Lakes hike.
Rila Monastery
The Rila Monastery is a striking Orthodox monastery tucked away in the mountains near Sofia. It was founded in the 10th century by a monk named St. Ivan of Rila, who lived in a nearby cave before his students built the monastery in his honor. St. Ivan had a history of performing miracles in the region and was revered among his followers.
Before entering the monastery we were able to see the cave where St. Ivan lived over 1000 years ago. There were some tributes left to Ivan inside and it was possible to climb out of the cave from a separate entrance. I managed to bang up my Apple Watch a bit in the cave, something St. Ivan never had to worry about.
To enter the monastery, like just about every religious site, there was a dress code with a sexist double standard. Women had to cover their heads and legs, while men needed to basically just not be wearing tank tops. In theory they weren’t supposed to be wearing shorts either, but in practice this just meant the shorts needed to be roughly near the knees.
The first thing that stuck out for me was the vibrant colors of the building. It was so different than any of the Catholic churches or monasteries I’d encountered. When I got closer to the monastery, I was treated to paintings full of demons and holy men. One even appeared to have the structure of a comic book.
I kind of wished I had a little more context to what I was seeing. There were biblical stories depicted on some of the ceilings outside. I really liked all of the demons painted on the wall. From a modern perspective the demons looked playful, although I’m sure they were once a cautionary tale for illiterate people.
For a small fee I was able to climb a tower in the monastery for a completely different view of the monastery. Some of the other people who went with me didn’t notice the tower, so make sure you don’t miss it if you happen to find yourself at Rila.
Inside the monastery, similar to in Sofia, they were pretty strict about people taking pictures. I lit two candles for my mom and grandpa. After the tour was finished, we went and got some traditional Bulgarian food at a restaurant nearby.
Seven Rila Lakes Hike
I did not dress appropriately for my hike to the Seven Lakes near Rila. It had been so hot in Sofia that I just expected a sunny hike up in the mountains. I was wearing a tank top and long pants and luckily packed a light rain jacket under the recommendation of the hostel.
There were two options to get to the start of the hike. We had the option to take a car or take a “tram.” The so-called “tram” ended up just being a ski lift. It took nearly 30 minutes on the ski lift to get to the starting point.
The starting point was at least 20 degrees (F) cooler than below, and the group of hostellers I was with were all freezing. We stopped at the chalet to warm up before beginning our hike. We reasoned that once we started moving and getting our blood pumping, that we would warm up.
The hike up to the lakes started off pretty steep with barely any visibility. We only realized we are at the first lake when we saw a sign indicating that it was there. There were glimpses of the lake that could be seen when the fog passed.
The weather didn’t cooperate, but I consoled myself by remarking at how “atmospheric” the fog was.
It felt good to be hiking again. There is something about hiking that sparks a different kind of conversation than sitting around a hostel common area or a local pub crawl. When we got to the top we celebrated our so-so view of the lakes, cheering every time the clouds broke enough to get a view of the lakes. There were a couple dogs at the top that didn’t seem to belong to anyone, but they were tagged. I wondered if they live up there. They kept trying to eat my food as I attempted to eat my sad pieces of chicken.
The view cleared up considerably as we descended. We took an alternate route back to the ski lift, which meant we were able to complete a full loop.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much there was to do in Sofia. I caught up with a Bulgarian friend from New York, learned a ton of Bulgarian history, and hiked out to some hot springs just outside of town.
Next up: Belgium