The beautiful Alpine Rila - Traversing the Roosters

Hi there Hive Family,

Today I would like to take you on a trip to Rila mountain. We will be exploring an unsual route to very special cliffs and alpine peaks. The place is known as The Roosters.
Rila mountain is popular for having its highest peak on the Balkan peninsula. Musala peak stands at almost 3000 meters high.

We left the car at the parking lot and we had about 30 minutes with faster pace to the nearest Lodge - Lodge Malyovitsa. We passed by the National Park Rila, the avalanche valley, and the ending stream of the local river.

We reached the Lodge in one breath and decided that we want to have something to eat before heading up. I was ok with a bean soup but my comrades decided that they want the big course and ordered meatballs and fries. They hadn´t eaten so took the advantage with pleasure. It was a weekend therefore there were a lot of tourists and people just spending the hot days on a higher altitude for fun. We had a goal though so we continued.

Swiftly climbing before long we were already high in the mountain and the Lodge started shrinking.

We had a favourite place since our last visit in Malyovitsa region. And it was this pond with running water. The first time we tried it was in June and the waters were still very cold. Now in August, it is a very different situation. The water was lets say cool, refreshing, rather than trying to get you out as soon as possible. I could stay inside for good 10 minutes or more without feeling any discomfort. It was just splendid. So we spent some time in the waters and gained additional adrenaline and increased metabolism for our ascend.

The Roosters are just at the top. The 2 peaks from left to right on the first picture in the above series. The bigger cliff is called The Eagle Peak. This is not a random name and I will show you why in the next pictures.

We saw some wild goats and I zoomed to see them just running down the steepy rocks. They are adept and do this all the time. Amazing animals. We had to overcome our first major hindernisse. Namely this abyss. And if you look up in the sky, you can see a whole swarm of eagles just roaming around. Hence the name of the highest peak after the roosters. This region has a lot of eagle population.

We were up on the border line in no time. The peak in the distance is actually Eagle Peak. This is our last destination before going down and back to our car. The Roosters are the intermediate peaks just before it. We were headed straight into them.

Shots from the surroundings. First off we will be summiting small rooster and then we will attempt an acsend on the big rooster.

We successfully ascended Small Rooster and then we went back to the main trail. You can see Small Rooster in the last pictures of the series. It was quite a ridge. Difficult and very steep. The chasms were also incredible. We loved it.

Now for the Big Roaster 😎

The ascend was too dangerous. We did not get to the highest point, decided to turn back. Too crazy.

That was is for the Roosters. It was great but we did not want to go all in because we still had a lot of climbing until we reach Eagle Peak.

On our way to the final destination. The nature is just precious. We are enjoying every moment of it.

This our last traverse and climb before the final destination. It doesn´t look scary but some point were really challenging and threatening for us.

We are at Eagle Peak. Just in time for the enclosing sunset. We also met a guy with a sleeping bag and accessories to spend the night there. This is awesome! We could also very well see another highlight in Rila mountain. The Needle Peak. This is the acute formation looking down. This is the most dangerous and extreme alpine peak in Bulgaria. It can be done without equipment but the death rate is really really high. Which makes the climb just not worthwhile trying it with no ropes and carabineers. I looking forward to doing this peak with alpine gear maybe next year.

You already know my style. I like to leave the best shots for last. Nothing to explain here. Life in its purest most natural form. Totally worth all the effort and hard moments.

Thank you for checking out my blog :)

Stay happy, be peaceful!

Namaste

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