Rila National Park, located 120 km south of Sofia, has some hikes through forest and grassy hills. Transportation from Sofia is convenient, and a visit to Rila Monastery at the end of the trek makes Rila National Park a good weekend outing. Although the trek requires 2 days, someone with only 1 day of spare time can take public buses from Sofia to Rila Monastery as a day-trip.

INFO, MAP, AND WHAT TO CARRY
The best source of Rila Mountain information is Odysseia-In Travel Agency in Sofia. Odysseia-In's address is Stamboliyski 20, but the entrance is on the side street Lavele. From Place Sveta Nedelya, it's a ½ block west and a ½ block north. Odysseia-In sells 1:55,000 scale topographical maps of trekking areas in Bulgaria. The map covering the Rila Mountains is simply titled, "RILA" in Cyrillic (BLV 5.00 which equals US$2.50). The map is accurate enough to know which direction to walk, but not as precise as most European topographical maps.

In addition to maps, Odysseia-In posts public transportation details in English. A helpful English speaking employee will recommend places to overnight, propose possible hiking routes, and review the transportation logistics based on how long and how strenuous a hike you want.

Mountain lodges with private rooms, hot showers, and electricity serve simple meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mountain huts are much more basic and may not have food. In mid-September, it was freezing cold. If you plan to stay at a lodge, carry a sleeping bag, winter clothes, rain gear, sturdy hiking boots, towel, toilet paper, lunch, and 2 liters of water per person. Carry more food if you plan to stay at a hut. We didn't need our water filter. The lodge kitchen filled our water bottles with delicious tea for BLV 1.00 per liter.

HIKING ROUTES
There are 2 standard hiking routes starting at the north end of the Rila Mountains, staying overnight in the 7 Lakes area, crossing a pass over the mountaintops, and descending to the beautiful Rila Monastery on the south side. A short overview of each is below. We recommend route 1 because the lengthy first day walk on route 2 didn't look very interesting.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• Public bus from Sofia to Dupnitsa. This bus departs Sofia's Ovcha Kupel Bus Station half-hourly from 06:50 to 08:50 and hourly thereafter. Travel time to Dupnitsa is 1.5 hours and costs BLV 3.00. From Sofia city center, tram 5 goes to Ovcha Kupel Bus Station. Travel time is 25 minutes and the cost is BLV 0.40 per person or bag. If you're carrying a large backpack, buy 2 tickets. Tram tickets are sold at kiosks near each tram stop.
• Public bus from Dupnitsa to Sapareva Baria. This Samokov-bound bus departs about hourly. Sapareva Baria is the forth town from Dupnitsa. Get off at the second stop within Sapareva Baria. The fare is BLV 0.70.
• A minibus runs from your stop in Sapareva Baria to the Park Center 600 vertical meters higher. Departures are irregular, but the entire minibus can be hired for BLV 10. For an extra BLV 3, the minibus will continue another 200 vertical meters higher to the Zeleni Preslap trailhead that climbs to the 7 Lakes. Alternatively, hitchhike.
• The largest lodge at the 7 Lakes is reached on foot in 2½ hours from Zeleni Preslap. Follow the "7em e3epa" trail markers. Overnight at the 7 Lakes.
• The next morning, follow the Rilski Manastir trail markers. It's 3 hours up and 4 hours down to Rila Monastery.
• Return buses from Rila Monastery to Dupnitsa depart at 09:00, 13:30, and 17:00 (BLV 2.70). Connecting buses from Dupnitsa to Sofia run hourly (BLV 3.00).

HIKING ROUTE 2

• Public bus from Sofia to Samokov. This bus departs Sofia's Yug Bus Station. You must catch the earliest bus (around 06:30) to make the 08:00 minibus connection from Samokov to Complex Malyovitsa. From Sofia city center, tram 2 goes to Yug Bus Station. Travel time is 25 minutes and the cost is BLV 0.40 per person or bag. If you're carrying a large backpack, buy 2 tickets. Tram tickets are sold at kiosks near each tram stop.
• Minibus from Samokov to Complex Malyovitsa departs Samokov at 08:00.
• The largest lodge at the 7 Lakes is reached on foot in 5 hours from Complex Malyovitsa. Follow the "7em e3epa" trail markers. Overnight at the 7 Lakes.
• The next morning, follow the Rilski Manastir trail markers. It's 3 hours up and 4 hours down to Rila Monastery.
• Return buses from Rila Monastery to Dupnitsa depart at 09:00, 13:30, and 17:00 (BLV 2.70). Connecting buses from Dupnitsa to Sofia run hourly (BLV 3.00).

RILA MONASTERY
A small town surrounding Rila Monastery has proper hotels, simple dorms, and decent restaurants. For BLV 20 per person (or BLV 30 per person with WC), you can also stay in a basic monastic room in the monastery itself, but be warned: the water is ice cold. A hike over the Rila Mountains should bring you to Rila Monastery by 15:30, which is enough time to see the monastery and return to Sofia via Dupnitsa on the 17:00 bus. The town of Rila Monastery is much nicer than Sofia. We decided overnight in Rila Monastery, return to Sofia on the 09:00 bus, and depart Sofia that night on the night train to Belgrade.