Hiking the Vazov’s Ecopath in Bulgaria

Who doesn’t like a little hike from time to time. If you happen to be in Sofia, I know just the perfect daily escape: Vazov’s ecopath. It is just one hour away from the capital of Bulgaria and it deserves all the time and effort. 

Why VAZOV’s ecopath? Ivan Vazov is famous and beloved Bulgarian poet and novelist. He is often referred to as “the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature”. Vazov’s 1893 novel “Under the Yoke”, which depicts the Ottoman oppression of Bulgaria, is the most famous piece of classic Bulgarian literature and has been translated into over 30 languages. I highly recommend it!

So Ivan Vazov spent a lot of time hiking this path and it was also an inspiration for another one of his great works – the story “Dyado Yotso gleda /Grandpa Yotso watches”.

The main character in the story is Grandpa Yotso – a blind man living in the Iskar Gorge. During his life there he fondly “watched” the railroad construction in his home land. He became a symbol of the blind and naive Bulgarian patriotism… I’m getting goose bumps writing about this. Now I want to read the story one more time…

When you get to the beginning of the Vazov’s ecopath, just after the first small hill you will get to a fresh mountain water spring where you can fill your bottles and refresh yourself. A few minutes hiking up the ecopath there is a beautiful wooden bridge and a river. 

The whole hike up the Vazov’s ecopath will take you about 2 hours with the stops. I won’t lie, my legs hurt really bad and I had to take more frequent breaks but I made it in one piece. One hour after you start the hike you will get to the Skaklya waterfall – the forth highest waterfall in Bulgaria. 

The best thing of Vazov’s ecopath is that at the very top there is this village Zasele with the most delicious tavern where you can reward yourself with delicious cup of Tarator or Shopska salad. 

But first take a look at some of the spectacular views on the hike…

Duration: 2 h up, 1,5 h down

Intensity: Beginners to Medium

Starting point: Bov train station

Ending point: Zasele village at the top

How to get to Vazov’s Ecopath: You can easily take the train from Sofia’s central train station to Bov station (гара Бов) where is the beginning of the ecopath just 1,4 km from the train station.