Vitosha Park

The Vitosha natural park covers almost the whole territory of the Vitosha mountain and is located in direct proximity to Bulgaria’s capital – Sofia. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria, as well as the first national park not only here, but also on the Balkan peninsula. It was officially declared as a national park on October 27 1934. Later on, (in 1936), it became a “people’s park”, and in 2000 it was acknowledged as a “natural park”. There are two reserves within the park’s territory – Bistrishko Branishte, and Torfeno Branishte, which are a home to more than 1500 species of higher plants, 500 species of mushrooms, 500 species of duckweed, and 300 species of mosses. The fauna of the park includes bears, does, deer, wild-boars, foxes, wild cats, a rich variety of birds, etc. Often, Vitosha is called “The Mountain of Stone Rivers”, because of the beautiful river valleys, filled with heaps of smooth rock pieces, between which, deep inside, rivers are flowing. The highest peak in the park is Cherni Vrah (2290 m), which is connected with the rising of the first tourist movement in Bulgaria. On August 27 1895 the famous Bulgarian writer and a keen tourist Aleko Konstantinov decided to organize a group of people, who climbed the peak together. He managed to gather 300 followers, who became the first organized tourists in Bulgaria.