European Mountains
Bulgaria

Malyovitsa (2729m) & Malka Malyovitsa (2460m),
July 11 2011


To the main Malyovitsa page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)

 

 

The route, seen in Googlhe Earth

The route, seen in Googlhe Earth
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Summary...

Our week in Bulgaria was progressing quite well. We had driven across the country, hiked Musala - the highest peak, and Cherni Vrah - a huge mountain just south of Sofia. Today, we left the Borovets village and found our way to the Malyovitsa trailhead - ready to hike a beautiful peak.

 

Bakery visit in Samokov

Bakery visit in Samokov
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Hotel Maliovica...

As there was a hotel conveniently placed next to the Malyovitsa trailhead, we decided to check in, even if it was quite still early in the day. Our guide book referred to Hotel Maliovica was an excellent hotel. This might have been true some decades ago, but our room didn't meet any 2011 standards. Not by a mile! The door was barely attached to the frame, and we later discovered that the toilet didn't flush properly. Due to language barriers, we chose the path of least resistance and decided to stick with the room.

 

Hotel Maliovica

Hotel Maliovica
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Malyovitsa peak...

But there was light in the dark tunnel; from our balcony, we could see our main target for the day - Malyovitsa peak. Oh, what a beautiful peak! Based on the view from the hotel, it seemed like a ... fairly long walk.

 

Malka Malyovitsa and Malyovitsa

Malka Malyovitsa and Malyovitsa
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Heading out...
 

By 9:28am, we were on the trail up the valley. We reached the Malyovitsa hut almost one hour later, and had a nice chat with a rock climber who was preparing for today's "work". It didn't strike me until I saw the old truck outside the hut, but the trail was actually a rough 4WD road. Being a regular driver on this road has GOT to be one of the worst jobs on this planet!

 

Malyovitsa hut

Malyovitsa hut
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The valley...

After a little while, we left the hut and continued up the valley. Apparently, we were now in the cradle of Bulgarian mountaineering and rock climbing. This valley is truly impressive, by any standards. The upper valley is divided into the first and the second terrace, and at the entry of the second, we passed a rock with plaques for dead climbers and mountaineers. I learned that this is also a popular skiing area, but based on the steep slopes all around, then avalanches has got to be a serious factor.

 

The upper valley

The upper valley
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Upwards...


Finally, it was time for some proper elevation gain. We were now about to push from 2260m to 2729m. After a while, we reached lake Elenski (2480m). And on the far side of the lake, Malka Malyovitsa and Orleto rose proud and tall. I didn't say anything at the time, but I just had to get to the top of Malka Malyovitsa after we had been to the main peak. I decided to break the news later on...

 

Orleto and Malka Malyovitsa

Orleto and Malka Malyovitsa
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On top!

After 7km and 3h:10m on the trail, we reached Malyovitsa summit. The walk up the watershed ridge was nice, and we had a good view towards the Rila monastery - possibly the most popular tourist attraction in Bulgaria. The summit view was nowhere as impressive as the valley view. We heard thunder in the distance (near Musala), but it didn't seem it was coming our way. At this time, I was under the impression that we had summited the highest peak in the northwest part of the Rila mountain range, but I later learned that there was another peak - 2 meters higher - 2,8km to the east. The distance wasn't the problem, but in order to get there, we had to cross Orlovets. And that didn't seem to be an easy task...

 

On top of Malyovitsa

On top of Malyovitsa
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Malka Malyovitsa...

On our way down from Malyovitsa, I told Anne about my desire for Malka Malyovitsa, and she gave thumbs up for one more ascent. The ascent from the lake was easy enough, and after some minor, easy scrambling, we reached the top of Malka Malyovitsa at 1:50pm, scaring up a mountain goat along the way...

GPS woes...

The GPS/GPS map had confused me throughout the trip. The contours on the map and the elevations reported by the GPS just didn't match. And now I discovered that the GPS reported different elevations, depending on which screen I was looking at. The tracks seemed to be more trustworthy than the waypoints. Were the waypoints a mix of barometer and GPS readings? I haven't figured all this out yet. On the internet, Malyovitsa is widely known to be 2729m. My GPS track shows 2733m on the summit. That's only a 4 meter difference. Also on the internet, Malka Malyovitsa is known to be 2640m. My GPS track on the summit shows 2627m. That's 13 meters lower! On top of this, my 2627m summit waypoint on Malko Malyovitsa lies between the GPS map contours 2540m and 2550m!

 

Descending Malka Malyovitsa

Descending Malka Malyovitsa
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Returning to the hotel...

Back at the Malyovitsa hut, we once again met the rock climber and we had yet another nice chat with him, while enjoying a nice soup. We were now eager to get back to the hotel for a shower and a proper meal and moved on.

At the meadow in front of the hotel, Anne met her Rila Park Ranger colleagues. At first, the Park Rangers thought this encounter was about a taking pictures, but eventually Anne made them understand that they were indeed colleagues. The encounter was duly celebrated through handshakes and smiles...

At 4:50pm, we were back at the hotel - 7h:20m after heading out. As mentioned earlier - the toilet had issues, but the shower actually worked. While taking my shower, I kept a close eye on the cracks on the walls, expecting creatures and bugs to be crawling out, any second now..

 

At the Malyovitsa hut

At the Malyovitsa hut
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The dinner was a sensation. The dining room was huge, but we were the only guests. I could easily picture that this was a ballroom in the 70's. The receptionist was now both waiter and cook, and we asked what the hotel recommended. In fact, we pointed out that just particular sentence in the parlour. She (the waiter and the cook) pointed on something in the book that translated to a hot-dog. Well... OK? And a salad, perhaps?

WHY DIDN'T I TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT DINNER PLATE WITH THAT LONESOME HOT-DOG??

Afterwards, we got a pleasant surprise. Our new Polish friends (Patrycja and Grzes) that we met in Borovets had just checked in to the hotel. We joined them for dinner and stared at them (with envy) throughout their meal. They were obviously more successful with understanding the menu. In the end, enough beer made me look at the brighter side of life...

 

Next day: Vihren

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6 + a Canon Powershot G12

 

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To the Malyovitsa trailhead

1. GPS profile 2. GPS tracks 3. Breakfast is secured 4. On the way to Malyovitsa 5. On the way to Malyovitsa 6. Malyovitsa hotel 7. Malyovitsa peak in the distance 8. Malyovitsa peak in the distance 9. Getting useful info

To the Malyovitsa hut

10. Into the national park 11. Into the national park 12. Dirt road 13. Malyovitsa hut 14. Malyovitsa hut 15. Avalanche info 16. Out of service? 17. Cliffs above the hut

To Malyovitsa

18. Moving on 19. Local flora 20. On the path 21. Malyovitsa hut 22. View up 23. Upper valley 24. Upper valley 25. Tall peaks appear 26. Memorial plaques 27. On the path 28. On the 2nd terrace 29. Memorial plaques 30. Impressive 31. Getting steeper 32. Big country! 33. On the mountain path 34. On the mountain path 35. Peak Orlovets 36. Orleto and Malka Malyovitsa 37. Orlovets 38. Rila monastery 39. On the watershed ridge 40. To the summit 41. Orleto and Malka Malyovitsa 42. To the summit 43. To the summit 44. Thunder in the distance 45. Rila mountains 46. On top of Malyovitsa 47. On top of Malyovitsa

Wide-angle view from Malyovitsa

48. Wide-angle view from Malyovitsa

To Malka Malyovitsa

49. Malyovitsa hotel 50. Malyovitsa hut 51. The valley below Malyovitsa 52. Descending Malyovitsa 53. Descending Malyovitsa 54. Local flora 55. Rila monastery 56. To Malka Malyovitsa 57. To Malka Malyovitsa 58. Easy scrambling 59. Billy the mountain goat 60. On top of Malka Malyovitsa 61. On top of Malka Malyovitsa 62. Ushite peak 63. View from Malka Malyovitsa

Descent

64. View from Malka Malyovitsa 65. Govedartsi 66. Orlovets 67. Descending Malka Malyovitsa 68. Ushite peak 69. Peak Orlovets 70. Rock face 71. View up Malka Malyovitsa 72. Local flora 73. Cliffs 74. Cliffs 75. Cliffs 76. Lunch at the Malyovitsa hut 77. Talking shop 78. Anne meets colleagues 79. Back at the hotel

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