Test your Limits – A Hike amongst the Fantasy World Lands

From a bit of a bumpy and stony but still amazing off-route Eco path to spectacular autumn landscapes, the road to the “Karlovsko Praskalo” waterfall is certainly going to test your limits on durability and endurance, but it is also going to grant you with some of the most enchanting, fantasy-world-like views that you are ever going to witness. If you want to feel like you are part of the “Lord of the Rings” story world during the autumn season, you might definitely want to give this one a go.

Getting up quite early and not losing your motivation once you see the beginning of the path turned out to be crucial for this quest. Also, I think it would be good if you adjust your mindset to the fact that you are going to be walking for about 7 hours one way, depending on your pace and amount of photographs you take, of course.

However, you should not give yourself into despair as once you get past the steep part in the beginning of the route and reach “Stara Reka” river, surrounded by some colourful trees, you are going to slowly sink into the beauty and magic of the nature. The path will no longer be as challenging; instead you will be facing the flow of the water, mixed with the various colours of the leaves and some sneaky sunrays that have managed to creep their way through the tall trees. For a moment, you might even feel like you are a part of a fairy tale because of your surroundings. What might bring you back to reality though, is the chill you would feel early in the morning close to the riverbank, so definitely make sure to have warm clothes with you.

After approximately 4 hours of walking, the first hut (“Hubavets”) was finally within our reach and it felt like a nice, warm embrace, charging us with energy for the rest of the hike. We drank some tasty tea and continued our journey. Since we got to talk to the hostess of the hut, we finally knew how much more walking was ahead of us, so the sense of purpose and direction, at least for me, was strengthened. On the way, we passed through a lot more views from what resembled mini waterfalls to paths and bridges, covered in brittle yellow-orange leaves, which made the walking through all the more enjoyable. For a while, it didn’t feel so much like hiking, but rather like a pleasant straw in the forest.

We reached the next hut (“Balkanski rozi”) considerably fast and carried on towards the next one. The river’s song continued to echo in the mountain like an anthem of the forest. Each turn we took, there would be a new heart-warming sight that was calling out to be spectated and fancied by all its passers-by.

And then we got to the last climbing part. I wouldn’t say it was that hard, but when you have stomach pains, it certainly multiplies the difficulty level. We were close to the top. The last hut - almost within our reach. The trees seemed taller than the ones so far, standing high and mighty like guardians of the hill, preventing us from seeing its peak. If you look carefully, however, on the left sight you would be able to see some light from the hut above slipping through the branches. Soon, we were there, at “Vasil Levski” hut, drinking tea again and preparing for our final stop – the waterfall.

It was supposed to be ten minutes away but everyone who loves taking pictures of the nature probably knows how easy it is to get carried away, so instead it took us like half an hour.

And there, in the end of the path, emerged about 30 metre high waterfall. The water was briskly sliding down the cliff, landing into a small rounded lake, surrounded by pebbles and leaves. Even though there was not as much water as there probably would be during the spring, it most certainly was awe-inspiring.

After enjoying the success of reaching the end goal of our journey (which was totally a hundred percent worth it), we headed back to the parking of Karlovo’s hospital where we had left our car at dawn. Delighted to have made it, we got on, numb and exhausted but still thrilled to have embarked on this journey.

I would strongly recommend you to try this route out at least once in your life regardless of whether you are a Bulgarian, or a foreigner. It will most certainly make you feel like you are being a character in a fantasy novel, exploring its immense lands with its secret views and concealed beauties. I have no doubt you would enjoy it, especially at that time of the year. What you could do to make your hike more pleasant though, is to book a room in one of the huts. That way you won’t have to walk like 35 km in one day, but instead you will be able to divide it into two and take as many side paths as you wish without worrying about spending too much time on taking pictures. So don’t hesitate and add the national park “Central Balkans” to your destinations list.

#hiking #Bulgaria #tourism #Karlovo #waterfall #autumnviews