Seven Rila Lakes — Attraction in Sapareva Bania

This beautiful hiking trail offers breathtaking views, but it requires strong knees and muscles, especially at the beginning when you have to climb uphill. The initial ascent can be challenging, so it's important to be physically prepared. Wearing appropriate clothing and having a backpack filled with essentials like water, snacks, and extra clothes is recommended. The trail rewards you with stunning scenery.

Additional Information: The park entrance fee is 5 leva, and you can purchase round-trip tickets for the cable car for 25 leva. Be prepared for the cable car ride as it can be quite cold, especially since you are sitting and exposed to wind and rain. There is a clean restroom available at the lounge area, located 50 meters uphill from the lift, and it costs 1 leva to use.

a. When it comes to footwear, it's important to avoid wearing just any sneakers. The trail can be slippery, so it's recommended to wear sturdy, stable shoes with good traction. Water-resistant shoes are preferable, and it's advisable to bring an extra pair of shoes in case the ones you're wearing get muddy. b. bring extra clothes different layers.

When descending from the hill to the lakes, you have two options: a. Going back the same way you came is the easiest and safest choice. b. Taking the left path downhill through rocky and slippery narrow trails offers stunning views, but it can be risky. Eventually, you will need to climb back up to the lounge where your journey began and ended, with the restroom...

Worth experiencing if you can. Due to the unsteady weather (clouds, rain, snow etc) we personally decided to stop hiking; we just saw the first lake and it was frozen. But we enjoyed our hike. It was beautiful, a wonderful experience and good air.

There’s no direct bus to here. From the videos,you will see that we drove up to a point where we had to pay 5bgn for a day car park and then we walked to where we bought the two-way lift ticket that cost 25bgn per person. Date:April 2024.

Personally,The ride up with the lift was at first scary but smooth and beautiful because it affords you the opportunity to view the area from up top.

Can the lift stop while you are in it? Yes,we experienced it for 20seconds and it started back on.

Can it rain on you or snow a bit on you while you are riding the lift? Yes,we experienced it and the lift continued running and we made it down to the end safely.

We will definitely love to return when possible and with a better weather😊.

It will be nice if the guys that sell the tickets could give a little information out or a display of information some where on the condition of the lake; if frozen or not. So that the individual buying the ticket could decide if it’s worth proceeding to buy or just return...

The Rila lakes remain beautiful but I believe this natural area is presently operating at its full capacity. Before 9 o'clock in the morning there was a twenty minute queue for the lift up the Rila Lakes Chalet. From there it was an unbroken line of hikers 9 out of 10 of whom chose to walk up the ridge to the right of the chalet.

Having read a review to the effect that the path starting behind the chalet was less crowded, I opted for that one and was rewarded with relative solitude for a long time, until I merged with the crowds on the other path at the Babreka ("kidney") lake.

The area was clean and tidy - no littering to note - but the discipline with regards to staying on the path was entirely absent and any number of parallel tracks were forming, causing erosion and visible scars in the landscape.

While I used it, and therefore am as guilty as anyone else, it would probably have been better if the lift was removed or at least restricted to use in the skiing season or reserved for people with impaired mobility in the summer. As it is, it is too easy for too many people to put a tax on this area.

It has some spectacular...