The 15 Best Hiking Trips in Bulgaria

1.Full-day Rila Mountains, Seven Lakes Hike, and Hot Springs Tour from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 70 reviews · 6 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $132Our pick

Review of Sofia’s Rila Lakes and Sapareva Banya tour, with hiking options, costs, weather tips, transport details, and honest advice.

“Really nice experience hiking in this impressive area. Our guide did a great job of adjusting to everyone's different needs and fitness levels. He had a great attitude and disposition the entire time and was super helpful. If you can make it all the way to the top point...the view is stunning! Highly recommend!”

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2.Seven Rila Lakes Snowshoe Hike and Thermal Baths Full-Day Tour from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 43 reviews · 1 day (approx.) · from $144

Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes snowshoe hike, chairlift ride, and Sapareva Banya thermal baths, with costs, route details, and practical advice.

“In advance of the tour, we sent multiple Viator messages, wrote an email, and called the provided number 5+ times. We did not select a pickup point because we were already going to be in Rila and wanted to meet there, so we asked where would be best to meet the local guide. No one responded to any of these inquiries, no one reached out to us via the phone number I provided, and so ultimately my husband and I did not go on this tour. (Despite having paid for it!) We had a great day in Rila by ourselves, but there was absolutely no communication from the vendor which…”

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3.Seven Rila Lakes – Full Day Hiking Trip in the Rila Mountain

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 40 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $35Top rated

Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes hike, with minivan transport, cable car costs, trail difficulty, timing, guides, and practical booking advice.

“The hike was beautiful albeit quite difficult, it's important that tbe weather is good though. Our guide was nice and responsible, but the minibus was in a really bad shape and very uncomfortable.”

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4.Mt. Vitosha and Boyana Waterfall Hiking Tour from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 36 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $131

Hike Vitosha Mountain and Boyana Waterfall from Sofia, with mountain views, forest trails, hotel transfers, and a demanding full-day route.

“Very nice tour, but only for people in good physical shapr”

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5.Private Vitosha Mountains Hiking with Black peak & Dragalevtsi Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 18 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $34Best value

Review the Sofia to Cherni Vrah hike, winter snowshoe option, Dragalevtsi Monastery visit, transport choices, value, and practical tips.

“Our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Because the lift is not running the police close the road up the mountain after a certain number of cars each day. Our guide, knowing this, contacted us to leave earlier and we arrived be for the road closed and before the trail was busy.”

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6.Day tour to Rila monastery, hiking to the cave of St. John and Boyana church

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $114

Visit Rila Monastery, St. John’s Cave, Boyana Church, and a Bulgarian winery on a scenic small-group tour from Sofia.

“One of the highlights was the visit to the magnificent monastery, set in a breathtaking location. The beauty of the monastery and its surroundings is truly impressive, and our guide shared the rich history and fascinating details of the site. The trail to the cave was peaceful and accessible. Our guide always respected the pace of each participant, ensuring that everyone could enjoy the walk comfortably and safely. Before visiting the Boyana church, we stopped for coffee at a cozy spot. The service was exceptionally friendly, and the desserts were delicious, providing a perfect moment of rest. We learned a lot about Sofia and Bulgaria with the information provided by…”

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7.The Seven Rila Lakes Self – Guided Hiking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 14 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $36

Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes self-guided hike, with transport, chairlift costs, trail difficulty, timing, food, and practical tips.

“Great day tour from Sofia. Professional on-time driver. I would recommend this tour (self-guided option). Hike with beautiful views that is very moderate.”

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8.Hiking in Pirin- the UNESCO World Heritage Natural Park with a visit of Bansko

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · 11 hours (approx.) · from $114

Hike Pirin’s Banderishka Lakes from Sofia, then explore Bansko’s old quarter on an intimate, weather-dependent day tour.

“Laura as a tour gide is absolutely amazing. Best driver and guide. That's it. End of 100 of whatever mandatory ... this is stupid, because I write what I want.”

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9.Seven Rila Lakes Guided Hike With chairlift ticket

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $143

Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia with a guide, chairlift, hotel pickup, and five hours of mountain scenery.

“The hike was enjoyable, and the view was great. time management was good, we were back in Sofia earlier than expected.”

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10.Rila Monastery and hiking to the Stob Pyramids- Private Day Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $189

Review of Sofia’s private day trip to Stob Pyramids and Rila Monastery, with hiking, transport, food, costs, tips, and booking advice.

“The hike was perfect. We had perfect weather for the end of October. Also the Monastery is worth to see. So much history and great nature.”

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11.Hiking to Eagle’s Eye and Devil’s Throat Cave

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 11 hours (approx.) · from $105

Review of Plovdiv’s Eagle’s Eye and Devil’s Throat tour, with mountain views, a moderate hike, Rhodope food, and cave legends.

“Highly recommended trip - we had Ivo as our guide and he was incredible - background in history and knows a lot about the places he took us to. Eagle's Eye is absolutely worth the hike and Devil's Throath needs to be experienced - photos don't do it justice and words aren't enough to describe it. The restaurant was also amazing - the food they serve is next to none both in quality and taste. We had a slight issue with card payment at the end but it got resolved very very quickly by the staff - they were very polite and got it sorted literally by the next morning…”

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12.Seven Rila lakes to Rila monastery guided Trek

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · from $335

Trek Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes, sleep at Ivan Vazov Hut, and hike to Rila Monastery with a private mountain guide.

“Beautiful 2 day hike with great guides Pavel and Nikolay! Overnight stay in the Ivan Vazov hut which is no frills but has everything you need. About 9.5mi hike each day, finishing at the beautiful Rila Monastery. Pavel and Nikolay were friendly, helpful, and called beforehand to go over what to pack and what to expect. Would definitely recommend them again!”

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13.Hiking Adventure in the Central Balkan National park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $109

Hike to Levski Peak from Plovdiv by Bulgaria’s longest chairlift, with huge Balkan views and an optional paragliding finish.

“It was an extraordinary experience. The views are just breathtaking. The trails led us through some of the most stunning landscapes I've ever seen, with incredible views at every turn. The guide is amazing, very friendly and knowledgeable. I think this hike is a must for anyone visiting Plovdiv. Highly, highly recommend!”

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14.Hike in The Central Balkan National Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $40

Hike Bulgaria’s Central Balkan National Park over three days, with forest trails, mountain huts, crest views, optional guides, and Sofia pickup.

“We hiked up to the water fall in the pouring rain the route was steeper than expected, but felt doable with a reasonable level of fitness and experience well worth the visit. 3.3h up and down well marked out. Cost about £12 in a cab from Sofia central with the yellow cabs recommended downloading the their app”

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15.Vitosha Mountain- Heritage and Hiking- Private Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $150

Escape Sofia for a private Vitosha hike, Bulgarian breakfast, Boyana Church, and Bulgaria’s National Historical Museum.

“We had THE BEST day! Our guide, Yulian, was absolutely incredible! Made the day so special for us! The views were breath taking and we had a wonderful day together with Yulian.”

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