We start early from your hotel in Sofia with a 2-hour transfer to Malyovitsa mountain base (1700m) where we leave the car and set off for the hike. First we cross Maloyvitsa and Urdina river and descend to a small hut, where you can have a snack or tea and continue with and uphill walk through beautiful century-old coniferous forests. In about 3 hours we are out of the forest walking amidst the kingdom of the dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) and soon reach the first (The Lower) and second (The Fish) of the Seven Rila Lakes. Here we stop for a longer break and lunch and learn about the White brotherhood movement and its founder Peter Danov. Later we continue gradually ascending up to the top of the ridge passing by the crystal clear waters of the rest of the lakes The Trefoil, The Twins, The Kidney, The Eye and the highest The Teardrop. The panorama is great and we can climb a little bit more on a thin ridge from where we can see all of the Seven Rila Lakes. About an hour descend will bring us down to Ivan Vazov hut built in the beautiful grassy valley of Bistritsa River. We will have hot soup for dinner and spend the night in the hut enjoying the company of the friendly staff and maybe listen to their music performances.
After a hearty breakfast we set off for another exciting hike that will take us on the main ridge of the mountain. We hike up and down the ridge with stunning views to the pristine Urdini Lakes north, the charming Rila Monastery down in the river valley and the rugged and alpine Malyovitsa range summits. We have a great chance to spot Balkan Chamois on the slopes below or up on the rocks. Our highest point for the day is the symbol of Bulgarian mountaneering Malyovitsa summit (2736m). Here we can have our picnic lunch and enjoy the stunning views of rocky peaks, steep bulleys and beautiful lakes. We end up the trek with a 2hrs descend through the deep Malyovitsa River valley, passing by Elenini Lakes and Malyovitsa hut.