Itinerary for a twelve day trip to the Rila mountains in Bulgaria (June 2026)

IntroductionTwelve day trip to hike in the Rila mountain range Bulgaria in June 2026 with two adults. The itinerary also includes cultural-oriented days for variation. Where possible, links are to an original source or OpenStreetMap. ActivitiesDay 1 Flight to Sofia Airport. Pick up rental car. Drive to Samokov (1,5h drive). The city is a great base for our hikes and offers the required conveniences at a very reasonable price. Day 2 Loop hike to Scary Lake. You can park here for EUR 4 per day. Hike was 13,6km long with 1050m ascent and took about 6,5h (average pace incl. breaks). You can view and download the GPX file here. Day 3 Hike to the highest peak in the entire Balkan Peninsula: Musala. We took the gondola in Borovets (25 min ascent time) to allow for a day hike. We parked nearby for EUR 8. Hike was 14,6km long with 822m ascent and took about 6h (average pace incl. breaks). You can view and download the GPX file here. Day 4 Transfer to Sapareva Banya (30 min drive) and relax the…