That day, my friends and I hiked from the Benkovski hut to the Vezhen hut, choosing to climb peak Vezhen first.
We left Benkovski hut early in the morning.
We headed in a southern direction, entering the Staroplaninska forest. We walked for about 10 minutes under the tall trees, enjoying the sounds of the forest.
We then hit a dirt road accessible by cars.
From there we continued to a junction from which we can either go to the Vezhen hut or to the peak. We went to the peak.
We started climbing towards the main ridge of the mountain.
My friends have a paper geographic map and sometimes they pull it out to check the route.
The views were magnificent on all sides.
There was an abundance of blueberry bushes, although the blueberries were very few. But we still managed to find and taste their refreshing taste.
On this side of the mountain we saw lots of juniper, wildflowers and large anthills.
The walk along the ridge was long. We passed through several high ridges and finally reached the top.
On the rocks were these delicate pink flowers.
Mount Vezhen is 2198 meters high and is a vast flat area. The wind there was very strong and we quickly had to move on.
We started our descent to the Vezhen hut.
A uniquely beautiful path followed, which I really liked.
Besides many beautiful flowers, there were an abundance of raspberries on it. There were also a lot of blueberries here.
There was also a fountain on the way where we stopped and poured ourselves pure mountain water.
This path turned out to be used by quite a few cyclists who make circular bike trips from the village of Ribaritsa to Vezhen, go to the Echo hut, and then return to the village of Ribaritsa by another route.
The path led us into the forest and after a while we reached the Vezhen hut.
The hut is located at the northern foot of the peak at an altitude of 1650 meters.
It is a massive building with two buildings and around it is full of wooden tables and benches, amusement facilities for children, a climbing wall, rope bridges.
Next to it, a visitor information center and a small chapel.
At the moment, the rooms of the lodge are undergoing renovations. Some of the rooms have already been renovated and others are in the process of renovation.
The canteen in the lodge.
Tourist kitchen, where tourists have the opportunity to prepare their own food.
We spent a lot of pleasant moments with the dog of the hut, who was very friendly and the children enjoyed him very much.
We spent a pleasant evening in the hut and in the morning we had to go back to the village of Ribaritsa.
