The Seven Rila Lakes

To say that I love the mountains would be an understatement.

I grew up at the foot of a mountain. As a kid, my parents would take me hiking all the time, especially in autumn. The mountains always feel like home to me, no matter where in the world they are, and I go back to them as often as possible.

We have lots of them in my home country Bulgaria. The most well known one is called Rila. It has the highest peak in the country, and it's also famous for its high-altitude lakes.

This time I was going there for the lakes.

The Seven Rila Lakes is the most well-known group of lakes here. There are many legends about their mystical power. A religious group comes here every summer to celebrate the solstice - hundreds of people dressed in white and dancing in big circles.

The place is a few hours drive away from Sofia, the Bulgarian capital.

Our journey started with a cable car ride over giant pine trees, and a forest that has been there for millions of years.

I'll just leave you with the photos, as they show the experience better than anything I cold write.

And finally, the cable car back.

We spent the night at Sapareva Banya, a small town at the foot of Rila Mountain, famous for its hot springs -which we got to enjoy later :)

Our airbnb had cherry trees in the garden, which we could pick and eat freely! That beautiful view was also in our backyard.

The house we stayed at was an old Bulgarian house, and it had an old-school dining room in the basement :)

This is how we spend our second day: the hot springs pool, food at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant, and pretty roses on the streets of Sapareva Banya :)