Rila

Rila Monastery was founded in the 10th century around the cell of Ivan Rilski, the country's patron saint, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name Musala comes through Ottoman Turkish from Arabic, commonly read as 'close to God' — it is the highest point not just in Bulgaria but in the whole Balkan peninsula, higher than anything in Greece outside Olympus.

Borovets is about 70 km from Sofia and the gondola takes you to Yastrebets at 2,369 m, which removes most of the climb to Musala. Panichishte, for the Seven Lakes, is roughly two hours by car. Govedartsi and Malyovitsa are the quieter way in.

The Seven Lakes are usually walkable from early May. Musala is a summer objective, roughly late June to early October — north-facing gullies hold snow into July and people underestimate them every single year. Huts run a full service in July and August.

Plentiful. Rila is the source of the Iskar, Maritsa and Mesta, and there are springs at most huts. Take water from running sources above the huts rather than from the lakes.

• Afternoon thunderstorms build over the massif on most summer days. Be off the summit ridge and descending by early afternoon — lightning on open ground is the real danger here, not the climb.
• Musala makes its own weather. Cloud can drop onto the summit in minutes and the marked route becomes hard to follow in whiteout.

• The Seven Rila Lakes circuit

  Easy3-4 hours

  The most visited route in the country, and busy accordingly. Go early or go in September. The chairlift from Pionerska cuts an hour of climbing.

• Musala from Yastrebets

  Moderate5-6 hours

  Return trip along the ridge past the Musalenski lakes. Straightforward in good summer weather, serious in anything else. Check the gondola's last descent before you commit.

• Malyovitsa

  Moderate5 hours

  The cradle of Bulgarian mountaineering, and still the best introduction to real Rila terrain away from the crowds.