Best trails in Pirin National Park

Short but steep climb to glorious views over Pirin mountains and Bansko. Not as hard as other climbs we’ve done but ~1000m elevation gain is what it is! Monday Oct 7 2024. We drove up and arrived at 9am when we got one of the few parking spots left at Vihren hut. Took us 3h to the top including stops, a few cm of snow on the ground from about halfway up (most of this was gone by the time we came down) and slightly more at the top. Definite temperature difference from both Bansko and Vihren so pack accordingly. 2h30 down, bit of a nasty descent with most of the trail rocky but amazing views throughout. Only saw a handful of other hikers all day.

An overall very hard trail for beginners or those who are not regular hard-core hikers. It starts with a nice walk along the river and escalates quickly-literally. A lot of climbing up boulders on the side of the mountain for the first 2 hours. Once you reach the highest point of the trail it gets a little easier. Getting to the Sinanitsa lake and cottage is also hard - steep rocky descent for a while. Very beautiful tour around Pirin glacial lakes, nevertheless.