Just landed, withdrawn the car at the airport, we leave Sofia in direction of Varna along the highway A1. We leave the highway
and we keep going to Borovec, Samokov and Govedarci, the road finally finishes at Maljovica, in the heart of the Maljovica Circus, where we arrived in the evening. The complex is constituted by a hotel and the Mountain School of Maljovica, crowded of noisy young people. We spent the night in one of the basic wood chalets.
First Day: Complex Malyovitsa (1720 m) - Vada Hut (1500 m) - Lovna Hut (1654 m) - Sedemte Ezera Hut (2184 m) - Overnight at the Rilski Hut (5 hours).
Second day: return to the car following the same path.
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From Complex Malyovitsa we drove back the asphalted road toward Govedarci. On the left we take a forest
road leading to Vada hut, it can be followed with caution with a normal car (no need for a 4wd),
in a clearing in the wood the small Vada hut sells some food, here we leave the car, there is a custodian that needs to be paid, he will give you a receipt.
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From the car park we go over a bridge and we follow a trace, signalled by yellow
markers, that with hairpin bends climbs a steep hill slope among magnificent pine trees.
We reach a wide saddle where the path forks the "7em e3epa" trail (white markers)
leads you to the 7 Lakes lodge, we follow the other one to Lovna hut.
Then we go down, we reach the dirty track that connects Sapareva Banya to Vada
Hut we follow it toward left immediately abandoning it for the path E4, well signed, pointing toward the
Lovna Hut climbing again in a thick wood. After forded a stream we reach
the small hut in a lawn immersed in the pine forest. Left the hut following the red-blue-green markers we climb a little
till we reach the intersection where the path divides, we follow the green one that goes
to Sedemte Ezera chalet along a panoramic slant closing the valley of the Prav
Iskar (see our suggestion in the Note). We emerge from the thick pine wood and we cross a basin studded of rocks and bushes (yellow-black rods), the landscape toward the lowland is superb. Above our heads we sight the
Rilski Ezera Hut, that remains out from our itinerary. Cutting the ample grassland flooded by water we reach the shores of the first lake, the Down Lake (2095 m), sets to the feet of a steep moraine that interrupts like a step the small plateau. Above the steep slant of loose boulders we reach the second lake and the
Sedemte Ezera Hut (2184 m). The lakes are located in tiers in a picturesque landscape of green meadows and forests of dwarf pines and juniper.
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This marvellous place attracted in 1929 the Bulgarian mystic Petar Danov (founder of the doctrine of the
White Brotherhood). Since the early xx century this has been a place of pilgrimage for the
Dunovisti, the followers of the spiritual teachings of Petur Dunov. Their belief system integrates elements of Christianity, paganism, sun worship and eastern philosophy. We found the Dunovisti here, practising paneurhythmy, a form of dance, in the meadows and upon the hills surrounding the lakes, worshipping the sun although, unfortunately for them and for us, a big summer thunderstorm spoiled our visit.
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Note - our suggestion is to go first to the Rilski Hut from there you can walk following a ridge that takes you to the 7 Lakes with panoramic view of the area.
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