Rila Lakes

The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of glacial lakes situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains of Bulgaria, 2 hours drive from Sofia. The lakes are the most visited lakes in Bulgaria and form a stunning natural complex known for its breathtaking alpine scenery.

Comprising seven glacial lakes, each with its own unique charm, the area is a haven for hikers and nature enthusiasts. The highest and largest among them, Tear Lake, stands at an elevation of 2,535 meters, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding peaks.

Each lake has a name associated with it’s most characteristic feature.

The best months to visit Rila Lakes are June, July, August and September. Sadly for me there is no swimming allowed in any of the lakes. This is a preservation thing.

To get to the lakes there is a chairlift. It actually takes 20 minutes to go up on the chairlift. It is possible to walk up but it is a long way up and steep so probably serious hikers only.

Our park up was about 10 minutes walk from the chairlift. The chairlift was a nice relaxing scenic ride.

The Rila Lakes are all at different levels and they all have names

• The Tear (the clearest one)
• Fish Lake (shallow one)
• The Kidney (looks like a kidney)
• The Eye (has oval shape)
• The Twin (two lakes connected to each other)
• The Lower Lake (the one with lowest attitude)
• The Trefoil (looks like 3-leafed clover)

The Tear is the nearest once and easily accessible. To see the others you will have to do some walking/hiking. You are probably looking at 3 to 5 hours depending if you choose to see all the lakes or not and also how many times you stop to take photos! I would say that the difficulty level is moderate, there is some uphill climbing particularly at the start but it is all on trails. You will also need to take food and water with you and possibly a jacket.

As you can see the scenery is absolutely breathtaking .

When you do the hike round the lakes you do need to take food and drink with you as there is nowhere to buy anything. This is actually a good thing because it is all so unspoilt and just as nature intended it to be.

We took a packed lunch with us and we found a great spot by one of the lakes to stop and eat and rest for about an hour.

The one thing that was absolute torture for me was that you are not allowed to get in the lakes! I can’t even begin to explain how much I really wanted to get in! If you’re reading this and you’re a cold water swimmer you will totally understand. The lakes were so beautiful, pale turquoise or aqua and so clear. The hiking

Like me Steve really wanted to get in, we both said if there was no one around we would have broken the rules but sadly there were far too many people for that! As a compromise we did put our feet in although that isn’t actually allowed either. I think it had to be done but in some ways it made me want to get in even more !

Choosing photo’s to show the true beauty of The Rila Lakes was really hard. We have so many and it’s one of those places where no amount of photos would really do it the justice it deserves.

I hope we choose wisely. We also felt that The Rila Lakes deserved a post of their own. If you are going to be in Bulgaria and have time it is definitely worth going to see these Lakes, they really are stunning.

After visiting Rila Lakes our next stop is Gorna Dikanya, a reservoir where you can swim! Our next post will start there.

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