I am thinking about spending one or two weeks hiking in Eastern Europe. I am considering either the Tatra mountains in Poland, or the Rila and Pirin Parks of Bulgaria. Does anyone have any advice? (I have already been hiking in the Swiss and French Alps in prior years).
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
i drove around rila in may including a few short hikes and can say it's a pretty good place. the lower elevation has many water falls, small farming houses and villages spread out, when the sun is out with wild flowers blooming it's very beautiful with the mountain backdrop. Once you get high up however, weather can change drastically and can rain hard and long. trails are not very clearly marked and can be slippery. we went up to St. John's cave behind Rila while it was raining really hard and didn't stop for hours.
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
276 posts
The Tatra Mountains are absolutely breathtaking! Plus, hiking is very popular in Poland so there are well marked trails everywhere. The little resort town of Zakopane is a good base with a variety of places to stay. The Lonely Planet guide to Poland has a pretty good section dedicated to hiking in the Tatras, but they focus mainly on hiking for people like me:)who aren't serious hikers. I think there are more challenging trails, however, if you know who to ask.
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
Tatra mountains are like condensed Alps. Very jagged granite peaks on relatively small area. Two thirds with highest peaks are in Slovakia, one third in Poland. Trails above tree line opened June 30th to October 31st. They are very well marked. Logistically easy. Quite more tourists than we are used to here in our Northwest. Polish side has even more than Slovakia side. Access to Tatra Mountains is easy. Polish side from Krakow to Zakopane, Slovak side by direct trains from Prague or Bratislava to Poprad Tatry. Tatra mnt. are ideal for day hikes. The best bases on Slovakia side are Stary Smokovec and Strbske Pleso connected to Poprad by little electrical train. Most of the time you don't have to hike round trip but do loop or half loop and connect by public transport. Rila and Pirin in Bulgaria are harder to access, logistically more difficult than Tatra mountains, trails not as well marked, fewer tourists. They are better suited for hut to hut hikes than day hikes. For Bulgaria I would recommend to do it via agency. When I did it we had a guide and hiked just with a daypack. Our luggage was transported on horseback to the next hut.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I lived in High Tatras for one year and hiked there extensively (on Slovakian side).