Summer trip from Govedartsi (Говедарци) to Malyovitsa (Мальовица) hut,Bulgaria

If you are in Sofia and have a free weekend, you love the mountains, and it's hot summer time, you could go very easy  to Maliovitsa in Rila Mountain (map).

The place is about 90 km / 55 miles away from Sofia and by car it takes about an hour and a half driving. My first stop on the route was Samokov through which actually passes the road to the ski resort Borovets  . For an hour I visit two places that worth seeing - The female monastery “Shroud of Holy Mary” (Samokovski devicheski manastir "Pokrov Bogorodichen") (map) and  Mitropolitska church – "The Assumption of the Holy Virgin" (Mitropolitska Tsurkva “Uspenie na sv. Bogoroditsa”) - (map).

The path to Malyovitsa hut

Mitropolitska church - churchyard

Mitropolitska church - churchyard

Mitropolitska church 

Mitropolitska church

Mitropolitska church

 Then we continue to our final point of the day - Govedartsi village (1170 m/3838 ft) . Accommodation options there are pretty, but we were chosen family hotel Iskar , but there are other lodging opportunities around. 

Govedartsi

Govedartsi

Govedartsi

Yastrebetz Gondola Lift 

Govedartsi cow

The hotel is small and cozy and the hosts were very friendly people. Since we were a big company, we had requested in advance a roast lamb for dinner. Believe me, our stay there turned into a real gourmet delight because after the lamb , we had homemade cake and a real sheep's yogurt.
 

Govedartsi - view from my room at Iskar hotel

Govedartsi - view from my room at Iskar hotel

Govedartsi - view from my room at Iskar hotel

It is a good idea to have warm clothes because despite the hot morning in Sofia, here daytime temperatures did not exceed 25ºC / 77ºF, and at night fell to 12ºC / 54ºF (it is August at all :) ).

The next day we went on the picturesque route to complex Malyovitsa. Along the way there are some great looking small hotels and a breeding-pond, where for 5 EUR per kilogram, you can fish for trout. I stopped for a while at St. George hotel, which have a nice open air restaurant.

You can rent SUV in Govedartsi, by which at about 13 EUR per person, you will transported to the 7 Rila lakes.

River next to the path to Malyovitsa

Flowers

 Complex Malyovitsa ultimate point to which you can reach by car. There is a paid parking which cost 2,5 EUR. 
 orienteering map
Around the parking there are several hotels and small cozy restaurants. We passed through the large sprawling lawn, called “Bears lawn” (1700 m / 5577 ft) and took a path parallel to the river, which brings us Malyovitsa hut (1960 m / 6430 ft) The trail is not very steep but rocky and it’s nice to walk even for unprepared people. After about an hour walking we reached Malyovitsa hut. There you can find soups, grill (“kebabche” and meatballs for 0,75 EUR) , beer – 1,2 EUR, milk – 1 EUR, tea and coffee for about 0,75 EUR. You can take your lunch, sitting at the tables outside to enjoy great mountain landscapes – rocks and even Malyovitza peak (2729 m / 8953 ft).  If you are prepared you can climb to the very top in about 2,5 hours.

tents near Malyovitsa hut

Malyovitsa hut

view from Malyovitsa hut

Malyovitsa peak

 Walking back to the Malyovitsa complex is slightly faster.
Later I found out that the temperatures in Sofia have exceeded 30ºC / 86ºF, but at Malyovitsa was no more than 15ºC / 59ºF - a real escape from the heat.
As advantages of this route we could point out - the beautiful mountain landscapes and the easy trail. There are very good conditions for outdoor sports such as orienteering, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, fishing and of course skiing in winter.

Minus is the lack of good marking that would be useful in bad weather and the bad level of cleanness around the hut. The road is from Govedartsi to Malyovitsa is in poor condition at some section.