Ruy Mountain - The Muddy Adventure

Hiking is a hobby to a lot of people and it certainly classifies as one of mine. Even though I'm far from the most experienced mountaneer, I still can’t describe to you how liberating it feels to be amongst nature (but hey, most of you probably have an idea of what I’m talking about). In terms of how the contry is operated on the inside, there's a lot to criticize and to fix, but when it comes to nature and beauty, Bulgaria is definitely unique in its magnificence.

The place that I’m going to share about today is called Ruy mountain and our experience of reaching its highest peak. The mountain is situated on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia and our phones kept on switching between operators, so my advice, regardless of whether you’re coming from one of these two countries or from farther away, is to just turn your airplane mode on so you don’t have to worry about spending a lot of money on your phone bill.

We initiated our journey from a village, called Zabel. From there on, there is an “eco” path, leading straight towards the hill (the word “eco” is in quotation marks because the route is accessible to some cars, such as jeeps, so some people decided not to take advantage of the mountain climate and nature). The road wasn’t tough at all at the beginning. However, we went there shortly after it had rained so there were these puddles of muddy water every time we reached an even ground. The cars made it even worse so we had to improvise a little bit with the crossing of these “Nutella lakes” as my friends called them.

Despite that little obstacle, the experience wasn’t diminished at all. It still was absolutely exciting to take the journey to the top. It wasn’t too hot due to the forest we were passing through and the rain had cooled the air so it was quite the pleasant walk upwards. There were some places where it was simply impossible not to stop and take a photo.

As it was some international gathering day for people starting their hike both from Serbia and from Bulgaria, and we also began climbing upwards around 1 p.m, some who were coming back kept on telling us that we were late and that we had so much more to walk until we reach the top. The thing was though that we were absolutely in no rush. Our goal was to get to the peak and to enjoy every second of it. it didn't matter what time that was going to happen.

After about two hours we were at the branching of the main road. One of the paths led to the hut, the other straight to the hill, and of course we took the one upwards.

It was definitely rough at times as the road became steeper and steeper, and if you’re not the most experienced mountaineer (like me), you might struggle at times when your calves and muscles start hurting a little bit due to the pressure. Anyway, it’s absolutely achievable to keep going so if the thought of stopping crosses your mind, just remember that you have almost made it and there's no point in turning back now. Plus, you can always take a break and enjoy the view behind you – with endless chains of mountains surrounding you on all sides.

Once we reached the peak, the feeling was extremely rewarding. We had made it. The wind decided to rebel and it was hard for us to spend more than about fifteen minutes on the top though. It was very strong. It was as if it was the ruler of the hill, trying to chase away any intruders that would consider staying at its territory for more time than necessary. However, that didn’t stop us from photographing ourselves and the views on all the sides.

On the road back, we decided to take another path, leading directly to the large hut, that was more like a mountain hostel to be honest. The path wasn’t quite visible as it seemed like most of the people had decided to take on the main route and the grass was a bit tall at moments, but it was so gratifying to see where we had come from once we had reached the building. Seeing the peak and how steep the road down was, definitely brought to the personal feeling of achievement and satisfaction that we had both managed to get to the top and to descend it through a harder path.

On the way back towards the village, some of the muddy waters had already dried out and those that were still there, didn’t really seem to bother us as we had achieved what we had come for. It was nice to walk and talk to my friends and to enjoy the forest and its splendor. In the end, it turned out that even though the path wasn’t the most difficult one, it was long – about 20 kilometres both ways, so it's more like a matter of whether you can endure its length.

Overall, I loved this place. No other mountain has presented me with the view of so many more hills and other mountains in the distance. While you are there, you start feeling as if you are part of a totally different world – one that does not circle around the cosmopolitan way of living we share nowadays, but instead, one that resolves around nature, the peace and beauty it offers and how much we can do to protect it, if we only wanted to try. No usage of cars at places like these would be the perfect way to start. Nature gives us so much, for free nontheless. Why not give something in return?

Have you been to Ruy Mountain? Perhaps you have a favourite hike you wish to share about? Feel free to do so below with your story or through pictures. Up to you!

P.S: Some of the photographs have been provided by one of my friends that was there with me. So immense gratitude wave towards her way! <3

#mountains #hiking #traveling #friends #nature #views #Bulgaria #Bulgariannature #Ruy #remember