Yes, this was the reason for me to walk on Thursday along some of the well-known routes in the Balkan Mountains, watching my route pass more along the ridge of the mountain to be higher. It was very unpleasant to breathe in the city, but over 500 meters above sea level everything fell into place. I enjoyed the crystal clear air.
I climbed the fastest way through Maglizh to Bulgarka hut.
The town can be seen in the valley.
Maglizh is an old settlement located at the foot of Stara Planina.
In Turkey it was the largest settlement in the region.
Remains of old houses remind that wealthy people lived here until the middle of the last century.
There are two churches and a monastery in Maglizh, but now my goal was to climb high and I will show them to you another time.
The misty river is an attractive place for many people during the heat.
The road winds to the heart of the Balkans and after about 16 km enters the village of Selce.
About 25 years ago, the village was almost abandoned. Yes, but later many people sought the exoticism and tranquility of the mountain and rediscovered it.Modern, cozy villas were built.
The church was renovated and in 2016 reopened.
The village already has a modern guest house offering tranquility and comfort.
Old buildings are still being measured, but most of them have already been bought, and while in the past such a house could be sold for BGN 5-10 thousand, recently their prices have risen many times over.
A beautiful view is Selce. I wish every Stara Planina village to acquire this species!
We head further up to the ridge. The narrow asphalt road turns into a dirt road - highway type. Right in front of this threshold we rode at least 10 people on a motorcycle!
The road to Bulgarka hut is beautiful. I love it as a route for heavy enduro.
Even higher, at about 960 m above sea level is the area "Source". There used to be an open pit mine in the northeast. Later a hut, but most of the buildings serving the mine have already been demolished. The hut also does not work.
We continue to the ridge to enter the beautiful beech forest before it.
This road has been used for centuries for connection between southern and northern Bulgaria, but it is no longer maintained and in some places below it is quite excavated.
Here is the Dry River. And now the water is small, but in the summer it dries up completely.
We haven't reached the ridge yet. We are located at about 1000 m above sea level between Vranov Vrah and Markov Tok
At this place I stopped for a while from the "royal road" to see what is in one of the deviations, which I have long been planning to check.
Here is the Bulgarian hut. It is located on the Kom-Emine route and is currently under repair.
I'm finally in "my forest"!
I call it that because it is extremely beautiful in all seasons of the year and I come here very often.
There is no comment here, just watching and one must bow before the perfection of nature.
I am leaving "my forest", and the ridge road is already descending to Krastets station.
I did not stop at the station, but headed straight for Bazovets, from where I would descend to Stanchov Khan.I love this area with this chapel above Bazovets. Apart from the fact that there is a beautiful view from here, the place is very energetic. I don't know exactly what it means, but it feels good.
The macadam to Stanchov Khan is very pleasant, and right now acacias are blooming around it and it smells great!
Here is Stanchov Khan. I have made several materials for this area and I know it like the fingers of my hand.Out of 240 inhabitants in the past, only 13 now live in Stanov Khan.
I take the narrow, once paved road to Svirtsi - Genkova koria, to climb over the Seymens. Chorbadji Genko from Tryavna was a very controversial person, after whom the bark was named, but he owned almost all the lands in the area. He also had an affair with the Turks, so some hated him and others praised him.
Beautiful place
Whistles were immersed in the greenery, so I raised the drone to see what it looked like.
I have shown you all the neighborhoods in this area and told you their stories, so let's continue with the fresh air!
Here is the stone formation called "Grandpa". "Grandma" is very close. The fountain, built in 1962, has already dried up. All this is located just below Belnovruh - the famous peak for this area, associated with many legends and traditions.
The Mystical Forest. That's what I call the forest below Belnovruh. In some places there are huge centuries-old trees and old retaining structures, who knows who made them.
The road goes to the ridge above the Seymens. From here there are many beautiful views in all directions as far as your eyes can see.At the bottom are the Samsi, but not those near Vaglevtsi. These were later renamed Villare.
I told you about the three neighborhoods: Seymeni, Samsii and Tseperani in the album "In the Footsteps of the Tseperani Haiduts", don't you remember?
The height is about 750 m. Pleasant, cool. I have to go down to the Tseperanites as time goes on.
I've been wanting to see what the Ceperans look like from a bird's eye view for a long time. My wish has finally come true!
Entering the home neighborhood of the two famous outlaws Boycho and Bogdan Voyvoda has always respected me, especially after reading Mityo Nedyalkov's notes on their exploits!
There is no change in Tseperani. The houses are in place and no one has fallen yet. However, this was not the case about 10-12 years ago. Then, in a short period of time, many buildings collapsed due to the fact that they were not maintained.These neighborhoods are a nice sight in the spring, but there are no people.
In the foreground was the house of Boycho Voivoda.
Now the property is owned by a German and Bulgarian family and people take good care of it.
I am descending the dug, stony road further down to Klashka river - Raykovtsi and I am already thinking of returning through Hainboaz, that I have shaken my kidneys well on the stony roads.
Raykovtsi was never a big village, but it was the center of a municipality and this helped a lot for its development in the XIX and early XX century. You see the big houses and they were all with shops, workshops or pubs downstairs. The people from the surrounding neighborhoods came here for a market.
I'm already on Hainboaz. I had a wonderful day, away from the gray smoke of the big city and I breathe with full breasts, and the smell of acacias all around again.
This was from yesterday's walk in the fresh air. I'm happy with her. It's good for you to try! You will be reborn and you will see beautiful landscapes, I guarantee!
Do it sometime, you won't regret it!
