Wednesday 25 July 2012

Rila mountain hike and two of its lakes...

In the hot summer days Bulgarian people like to escape the heat in the refreshing shadows of the trees in the mountains. Among all mountains in my country (and on the Balkans), Rila is the highest mountain with its peak Mussala (2925m). The peak is some 8 meters higher than the top of Olympus-mountain, the highest one at our neighbors, Greece. The name Rila comes from Thracian word for the "well-watered", which is not a surprise at all. The mountain has some 200 glacial lakes as well as several hot springs! Some of Balkans longest and deepest rivers originate from Rila: Maritza, Iskar, Mesta. One of the most famous lake group are the Seven Rila lakes, about which I have already wrote.

Last weekend I had the big pleasure to visit two more lakes...A big part of the Rila mountain is a national park due to its amazing flora and fauna. This is also the biggest national park in Bulgaria...We went first up to the Fish Lake (first picture) and then refreshed our feet and toes in the crystal clear water of the Dead Lake (6th and 7th picture), which is located at 2100m. Enjoy the hike with me:-)

15 comments:

Rosemary said...

Great photo of the humming-bird hawk moth - really well caught.
Lovely pictures generally. I have only been to the coast in Bulgaria, but the mountains and lakes look beautiful.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Looks like a refreshing and beautiful place to walk and enjoy the surrounds.

Koryn said...

Everything is so.... GREEN. I love it! I felt refreshed just by looking at your pictures!

betchai said...

love all the pictures but the last one is so joyful and celebratory :)

Lies said...

Verbazingwekkend mooi, Jana... !
Lie(f)s.

FilipBlog said...

Very nice pictures, like the one with your arms open and the clear water. I remember your story of the frog.

Greetings,
Filip

Anonymous said...

Jana,

You sure do take some fantastic photos of your trips! The photos are so vivid and striking, I love looking at them. :)

Enjoy your weekend!

rainfield61 said...

I like the last one.

The world is now belong to you.

Jana said...

dear all,
thank you so much for your nice words!
@Rosemary: a big thanks for the name of the humming-bird hawk moth, I did not known it till your comment!
@Filip&@rainfields: I was collecting the sun(shine) on the last picture with my arms directed to the blue+warm sky:-)

AVCr8teur said...

Wow so beautiful! It looks like these are hidden places that you really have to hike in to enjoy.

FBS Headmaster said...

I just came back from a mountain trip myself and I do wish mine was more relaxing like yours, haha xD

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Unknown said...

Hoi Jana
Wat een prachtige foto's uit Bulgarijen...Ik heb de foto van de distel wel 400x vergroot..Maar wat vliegt daar?.. Je foto's van de onderwaterwereld zijn helemaal geweldig ...Wat een prachtige serie.
Jij komt ook overal hé :)
Nu weer in Rijswijk.
Ga je de Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen nog bezoeken ..of ben je in Nederland met een ander doel.
Fijne tijd in ieder geval in Nederland (morgen mooi weer :)
Groetjes Henk

Quay Po Cooks said...

Jana, I enjoy the scenery through your eyes. Beautiful. You take gorgeous photos. Love the photo of the humming bird and the butterfly. I love the purple color flower too, so beautiful.

Joop Zand said...

WOW....it's very nice overthere, you have made very good photo's,
i like that landscape Jana.

Greetings from Heemskerk, Joop

gootchai said...

Quelles sont superbes tes photos!!!! j'adore++++!! Très belle région!!