If family is important to you, if you want to spend your vacation fully and devotedly with your most loved people – choose the mountain. You don’t have to set your sights on the highest from the first time, just take over from some pretty foothills, blend in with the locals to feel the warmth and soulfulness of a community where you’ll be noticed.
The mountain can give you the privacy you need so that you can fully devote yourself to your family. The environment will be your friend, and nature – an exceptional teacher.
Walking in the mountains is health and youth
Clean forest air saturates the blood with oxygen and has an important role for red blood cells /erythrocytes/, which are the main transmitter of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the human body. A forest walk improves the activity of a person’s respiratory system, and when this is accompanied by movement along a path by a river and real ozone therapy. Ozone is trimolecular oxygen, which is an excellent means of fighting against viruses and bacteria, helping to overcome the pain of disease states. Allergies and asthma are among the vicissitudes of the modern age. Again, the forest comes to the rescue here with zero percent particulate matter and low allergen levels.
Mountains in Bulgaria are zoned according to altitude.
- From 900 to 1500 m.a.s.l. is the area of deciduous and mixed forests and shrubs. Remarkable beech plantations surround the forest road from Dobrinishte to the Obidim monastery, to which are added beautiful birches on the way to Gotse Delchev hut. The path from the Betelovoto area in the direction of the Yavorov hut is also incredible. The beech forest creates a feeling of calmness and nobility.
- From 1300 to 2200 m.a.s.l. is the belt of coniferous forests of pine, myrrh, fir, spruce. We pay special attention here to phytoncides – volatile components of essential oils, capable of killing microbes or stopping their development. It is not by chance that the Japanese, who are famous for their divine worship of nature, developed their health system with forest walks /”shinrin-yoku”/, paying attention to centuries-old forests and trees as conductors of a powerful force from the bowels of the earth, the sky blue and the sun. Not far from the Ruskovets SPA complex with scientific research in the past, such a climatotherapy zone was established. This is the Logovete area near the Gotse Delchev hut. It is rich in water, with tall pine forests surrounding wide meadows. The paths to the Mocharata area, to the Bezbog hut, to Shirokata Polyana, etc. are of easy and medium difficulty. Walking on them, in addition to breathing therapy, helps to strengthen the heart’s activity and stimulates the metabolism.
- From 2200 to 2500 m.a.s.l. is the zone of subalpine shrub communities /squat, juniper, blueberry, alder, Lapland willow/. As it turns out, this is where the trails start for well-prepared physical mountaineers. If you are in “Ruskovets”, the iconic Bezbog hut /2224 m.a.s.l./ is the appropriate base camp. Located on the shores of a beautiful lake, the lodge is beautiful in all seasons. Although a veteran chairlift is functioning, which climbs from the Gotse Delchev hut to the Bezbog hut in 35-40 minutes, faithful mountaineers have an alternative: climbing the wide forest road: slower, more meaningful, more responsible, more connecting with the surrounding world. From the Bezbog hut, the popular route is to Popovo Lake – the largest in Pirin and to the secluded Samodivski Lakes. A remarkable route in this area is the one starting from the Gotse Delchev hut to the Shirokata Polyana and the Springs in the land of the village of Mesta.
- From 2500 m.a.s.l. up to 2900m above sea level is the zone of alpine vegetation. The mountain becomes harsh and the trials great – for people with a strong spirit and courage to face the challenges. The majestic peaks in the park area Bezbog above Dobrinishte: Bezbog, Polezhan, Gazei, Jangal, Jano, Sivria, reward every passionate mountaineer with amazing views!
How the mountain brings the family together
On the forest paths without phones, headphones and vanity is a mission for understanding and bringing the family together. Children’s positive attitude towards the mountain and their emotional connection with it should start from an early age. The cliché about the first seven years applies here as well. The mountain brings physical health. Strengthening muscles, training endurance, tempering character and achieving goals are important in this day and age where everything is readily available and is a jumping vessel for laziness and mediocrity.
How to spend time in the mountains with the family?
- Prepare for a picnic. The guests of Dobrinishte are lucky. On the road from the town to the Gotse Delchev hut, there are numerous picnic areas with gazebos, water fountains and a place for games. Stock up on firewood, matches and kindling. The local farmers market is on Wednesday mornings. The typical trinket sale is quite entertaining and the friendly advice from the vendors is not to be missed. But the most important thing is the fresh vegetables and fruits that you can buy. The emblematic farmer’s market in Bansko is on Sunday, in Razlog on Monday, and the exotics of Yakoruda on Saturday. Fresh trout for the grill is available from Ivan Kozarev’s old fish farm, not far from Dobrinishte or from the restaurant near the Gotse Delchev hut. More for the picnic: a waterproof blanket, bug spray, no-frills boards and utensils.
- Collect herbs for tea: until mid-June – tops of white pine in the sunny roadside meadows and from squat high around the huts; hemlock blossoms by the wet valleys for syrup for lemonade, dandelion blossoms for potion; in July: bell peppers /wild strawberries/, fragrant thyme, oregano and St. John’s wort, in August – blueberries.
- Collect forest flowers and leaves for herbarium.
- Draw!
- Stretch a hammock between trees and swing to your heart’s content.
- Photograph what interests you. Make themed photo collections of butterflies, plants, trees and landscapes. Surely the Google machine will remind you of this day always
The mountain gives knowledge
Stimulate sensory curiosity! Nature is diverse. Behind the powerful silhouette of the mountain hides a world that is amazing in its nature and diversity. The perceptions of adults and children are different and when they are together, the experiences are very interesting. Adults can teach children how to navigate by natural signs, how to predict the vagaries of the weather, which plants are useful and which should not be touched.
Nature can provide a new way to communicate and reveal unsuspected opportunities for development. She is salvation and wonder. Walking in the mountains is tiring, but it calms anxious thoughts and balances. The mountain gives many occasions for stories and brings us back to the true Bulgarian essence of people in love with their land.
Family holiday in the mountains – we are waiting for you
The mountain provides long-term health and positive energy to everyone who steps into its realm. Meeting with nature stimulates children’s reading and research spirit, develops their intelligence. This can become a lifelong interest and a future profession.
