Bulgaria · RILA LAKES & MOUNTAIN HIKES
Seven glacial lakes stacked up one hillside, and a chairlift that decides how hard the day is. These 15 hikes differ on how much climbing you do, whether the lift is included and what happens when the cloud comes in — priced, timed and honest about fitness.
Review of Sofia’s 7 Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery day trip, with hiking advice, transport details, costs, timing, and practical tips.
“What an extraordinary view. I hiked all the way up through 6 lakes. The view at #7 was covered by the weather front moving in. It was even more gorgeous with some snow all over. Sweet views.”
Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes hike, with chairlift details, winter warnings, guide advice, costs, fitness needs, and booking tips.
“I went with the transport only option and there was plenty of time to enjoy the hike. The transport was comfortable and safe, and the guide helped us to get tickets for the chairlift too. Great service!”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes, ride the chairlift, and visit Rila Monastery on a demanding, worthwhile day trip from Sofia.
“Radi and the driver were absolutely brilliant. From the start we relaxed under their leadership, They were professional, informative, relevant, flexible, caring and anticipated our every need. And most importantly they were also friendly and great fun. Thank you guys, you are a massive asset to your company.”
Visit Rila Monastery and hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes on an 11-hour Sofia day trip with transport, mountain views, and practical guidance.
“Really recommend this trip! Our tour guide Apostolos was very friendly and a very safe driver. We had ample time to visit the monestary and the mountain. We also had the opportunity to rent out snow boots at the bottom of the mountain, which we very much needed as snow was deep on the mountain this December. Overall, a trip that is definetly worth the while!”
Review of Sofia’s Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery day trip, with hiking advice, chairlift costs, timing, transport, and practical tips.
“Philip was our host, and gave a great overview of the itinerary. We had a safe driver. It was a great itinerary. The monastery is beautiful, but the hike is epic. Go all the way to the top for the most epic views.”
Review of Sofia’s Rila Lakes and Monastery tour, with hiking advice, weather warnings, lift costs, timing, guides, and value tips.
“To take the trip to the rila monastery and the Rila lakes was the best decission we made during our visit of Sofia. My girlfriend and I had an amazing experience exploring the beautiful nature of Bulgaria. Our guide/driver Stoyan made the trip even more memorable with his enthusiasm and knowledge about the place and Bulgarian history. He was really helpfull and ready to answer all our questions, we would really recommend him as a guide! Bulgaria had a lot more to offer than I expected. I would really recommend this trip!”
Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery tour, with hiking advice, costs, timing, weather tips, and honest pros and cons.
“The hike up to the lakes was a challenge but well worth it. The views are spectacular. The hike down was also a challenge as the path is rocky. The monastery is beautiful and our guide was both informative and respectful. A great day out.”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia with transport, chairlift access, mountain views, and five hours to explore at your own pace.
“What an amazing trip right from start to end. Our driver Simo was just great and very helpful and really enjoyed this trip with him. The pick up was very smooth and right on time. The van used for trip was very comfortable throughout even though it was quite hot outside. We reached near the cable car ticket counter around 9am and we were asked to meet back around 2:30pm which was quite good of time to do the hike and be back. The ticket collection was very quick as it had no queue at all. Just remember to bring in cash for it. I really enjoyed the whole trip…”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia with a guide, chairlift, mountain views, and practical tips on weather, fitness, and gear.
“Super experience. Guides had good English and you felt safe. Using the cable car is a MUST. Need hiking boots/shoes but essential in April as 2ft of snow. Crampons recommended in early season.”
Snowshoe across Bulgaria’s frozen Seven Rila Lakes, then soak in Sapareva Banya’s hot mineral pools on a practical day trip from Sofia.
“We are very satisfy with winter experience in Rila lakes region.”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia, then relax in Sapareva Banya’s hot springs on this guided mountain day trip.
“This tour was great, our guide was great, took us to see 5 of the seven lakes as there was too much snow to see the 6th and 7th. We saw incredible views. Only issue we had is that it was way more expensive than the tour description said. For the chair lifts it was 25lev return and for the spa it was 40lev. The description says that it would be 15lev for the spa this is a drastic difference and we probably would not have gone with this tour if we had known. The tour operators should update the description. We were not pleased by the miscommunication. Some people…”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia, then unwind in Sapareva Banya’s hot-spring pools on a practical full-day mountain tour.
“We had a fantastic time on our trek Mari was a wonderful guide and tailored the trek for we two older Aussies. we have fond memories of the trek and particularly Mari, she is a most wonderful person and was a pleasure to spend the day with.”
Review the Seven Rila Lakes snowshoe tour from Sofia, with mountain views, chairlift access, thermal baths, costs, and weather tips.
“O passeio não aconteceu pois o teleferico que nos levaria aos lagos estava fechado em virtude dos fortes ventos. Faltou atitude da empresa/guia, de obter informações sobre o tempo no local . Viajamos por horas, perdemos nosso dia. depois vimos que já estava sendo divulgado localmente que não era recomendado o passeio e não fomos avisados. Na minha opinião todo o valor pago deveria ser devolvido.”
Review of the Seven Rila Lakes hike from Sofia, covering transport, cable-car costs, fitness, timing, guides, value, and practical tips.
“Driver was on pickup location at correct time and the van was quite nice and modern with AC. Guide showed us around lift area and explained us little about the park. Although there was enough time to visit all lakes when walking a bit faster, one more hour at the location would be ideal.”
Review of Sofia’s Vitosha and Boyana Waterfall hike, with route details, fitness advice, guide tips, pricing, transport, and booking guidance.
“filip was a great guide. we saw a lot of the nature around sofia. from snowy mountaintops to a forrest to a lakeside village. we learned a lot about bulgaria and i can definitly recommend this tour!”
Every kind of day out, and the best of each.
