Bansko was a two-night stay. An interesting town but not quite as charming as some prior stays in Bulgaria. Would you like to hear a few interesting facts about Bulgaria?

- Bulgarian roses supply 10% of the world’s rose oil.

- Bulgaria is the third largest exporter of herbs in the world.

- Bulgaria’s yoghurt culture can only be grown in Bulgaria, and

- The red wine from Melnik was Winston Churchill’s favorite wine.

It was time for a more serious roundtrip hike to the top of Mt. Vichren, the country’s second highest mountain, at 9,558′ in the Pirin Mountain range. Mt. Vichren has 176 mountain lakes and over 100 varieties of rare plants …View image…including Edelweiss. (As many times as Edelweiss has been pointed out to me, I still have trouble recognizing it when I see it. But…I can sing all the words to Edelweiss from “The Sound of Music”…that should count for something… ) There is a strong Mediterranean climate influence which creates this beautiful landscape. Up and up across meadows filled with wildflowers and terrific panoramic views of the entire Pirin range at the top.

hiking through more wildflowers to Mt. Vichen, Bulgaria

riot of poppies hiking up to Mt. Vichen, Bulgaria 

ex-Marine on the trail to Mt. Vichen, Bulgaria
A really enjoyable hike…with rest stops along the way…View image…and the usual sandwich lunch.

The next day, we transferred to Vichren Chalet at 6,494′ and began hiking from there across the southern Pirin range. A good footpath among peaks and glacial lakes, reaching Banderitza Pass for a picnic lunch, and then down through more alpine meadows and forests to Yane Sandanski Hut.

Banderitza Pass in the southern Pirin Range of Bulgaria 

bundling up at the Banderitza Pass in Bulgaria 

lunch by the lake in Bulgaria 

rest stop in meadow under Mt. Vichen, Bulgaria
In late afternoon, a drive to Melnik, a major wine-producing town near the Greek border and another architectural reserve (96 buildings are cultural monuments). Melnik produces a full-bodied red wine and I was looking forward to dinner and wine-tasting. The Hotel Bolyarka was another beautifully situated hotel with a great restaurant. There was a tavern inside and a garden restaurant serving barbecued dishes, lamb and pork shish kebabs, spicy beans, banitsa and much more.

Melnik vineyards in Bulgaria 

Hotel Bolyarka in Melnik
Melnik was very easy to get around the basically one-street town with many taverns and wine cellars, surrounded by weird and impressive sand formations resembling pyramids. Tomorrow would be a hike up to Rozhen Monastery.