Sofia

Sofia Province wraps around the capital like a wide ring without enclosing it – its administrative seat is in Sofia itself. A trip to Sofia Province takes you to Musala, the highest peak on the Balkan Peninsula, to the ski resort of Borovets, and to Koprivshtitsa, one of Bulgaria's most beautiful museum villages.

Mountains Around the Capital

Hardly any Bulgarian province is as mountainous. To the south rises the Rila Mountains with 2,925-meter-high Musala, to the north the Western Balkan Range with passes such as Vitinya and Arabakonak, and in between the gentle heights of the Sredna Gora. The Iskar River rises in the Rila, flows through the Iskar Reservoir, the largest in the country, and then breaks north through the Balkan Mountains in a deep gorge. Much of the area is forested, and farming is practiced in the basins of Samokov, Ihtiman, and Botevgrad.

Samokov and Borovets

Samokov was a center of icon painting in the 19th century; the Samokov School around Zahari Zograf decorated monasteries throughout the country. In town you can see the Bayrakli Mosque with its wall paintings, the Pokrov Convent, and a historical museum. Ten kilometers higher up lies Borovets, Bulgaria's oldest ski resort, founded in 1896 as a hunting lodge for the tsars. In winter, runs climb to around 2,500 meters; in summer a gondola goes up to Yastrebets, from where you can hike in a few hours to the Musala hut and the summit.

Sights in Sofia Province

Koprivshtitsa in the Sredna Gora is a place where time seems to have stood still: colorful merchants' houses with wooden bay windows, stone bridges over the Topolnitsa stream, and museums in the birthplaces of revolutionaries and poets such as Lyuben Karavelov and Dimcho Debelyanov. The April Uprising against Ottoman rule began here in 1876. Every five years the National Folklore Festival takes place on the Voyvodenets meadow, the largest gathering of traditional music in Bulgaria. Other excursion destinations include the Iskar Gorge with its steep limestone cliffs, the Etropole Monastery in the Balkan Mountains, and the resort of Pravets with its golf course.

Food and Daily Life

The cuisine of the mountain regions is hearty: potato dishes, bean soup, kebapcheta, and spit-roasted lamb. Potatoes are grown around Samokov and have a good reputation throughout the country. In Koprivshtitsa, the mehanas serve kapama and banitsa, along with rakia and herbal tea from the Sredna Gora. Many people commute to Sofia, and there is industry in places like Botevgrad and around the copper mining near Chelopech and Pirdop. In the north of the province, Etropole is worth a visit for its clock tower and a waterfall on the edge of town, as is Botevgrad, whose 1866 clock tower is considered a landmark. At the Vitinya Pass, hiking trails begin leading up to the Balkan ridge. And in Elin Pelin and Gorna Malina, just half an hour from the capital, you can still find rural villages with 19th-century churches, guesthouses, and homemade yogurt.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

Borovets is only about 70 kilometers from Sofia Airport, and shuttle buses run regularly during the ski season. You can reach Koprivshtitsa by train on the Sofia–Burgas line, though the station is a few kilometers outside town; a connecting bus runs into the village. The best time for skiers is December to March, and for hiking in the Rila July to September. Koprivshtitsa is at its most atmospheric in late spring and early fall.