The Seven Rila Lakes - Bulgaria's most treasured jewel

Bulgaria has many secrets, many layers. The people do not give out information so easy. To understand Bulgaria, you have to live here a long time, be intimate with people, live like a Bulgarian, and speak our language. Even then I do not know how close you can be to real truth. All you see is what is left of us.

The Making of June, Annie Ward

I have so many great memories from my early school years - learning how to read, playing with friends, even befriending my teachers (yes, I was that student LOL). Yet, when I think back on these years, there are two aspects of my school life I loved the most; two I will always remember fondly. Reading about my country and discovering it. Now the latter didn't happen as often as I would have liked, which is why I'm thrilled to share with you some photos, and the story, of a wonderful place I've always imagined visiting but never had the opportunity to do so: The 7 Rila Lakes.

Our trip started with about a 4-hour drive from Sliven, my home city, to Sapareva Banya, a small town located on the north slope of Rila mountain. I've never travelled to this part of Bulgaria before so everything was new to me. The amount of beauty surrounding me cannot be put into words. I was breathing it all in even from the inside of my cousin's car. We even stopped on our way just to take a few shots of this place we found serendipitously. It looks like a postcard, doesn't it?

We arrived at our hotel, The Five Elements, in the early afternoon. The place looked gorgeous - from the tastefully decorated lobby to the rooms we were checked into, to the pool/ spa areas. I recommend it if you're ever staying in the area.

Real wood decor

My aunt and my baby girl

We were all exhausted however soon after dinner, we still went downstairs to check out the indoor pools as kids had way too much energy.

Early the next morning, we got ready and headed over to Panichishte - this was our starting point. We decided that since we're going with the kids, we might as well try and facilitate the trip as much as we can. So we opted for the chairlifts from Panichishte to the chalet Rila Lakes, which took us about 30 minutes to reach. And let me tell you - these were the quietest, most peaceful and magical 30 minutes in my life 🥹 The smell of the forest, the breeze, the occasional bird chirps. I imagine this must be what heaven feels like.

Once we reached the chalet, it was time to conquer the mountains!

The 7 Rila lakes are one of the most famous and visited Bulgarian treasures. I remember learning about them during our "родинознание" (literal translation: knowledge of one's country) classes. They are glacial lakes, situated at varying levels - kind of like a staircase. The lowest lake being located at 2095 meters above sea level (this is also where Dzherman river begins), and the highest - at 2535 meters above sea level. Each one of them has a specific name - starting from the bottom, we have Dolnoto Ezero ("The Lower Lake"), Ribnoto Ezero ("The Fish Lake"), Trilistnika ("The Trefoil"), Bliznaka ("The Twin"), Babreka ("The Kidney"), Okoto ("The Eye"), and the most famous one of them all - Salzata ("The Tear"). A little fun fact: all the lakes are connected to each other through little streams.

There are also many legends being told about the lakes throughout history. The one I find particularly fascinating is the legend of a couple in love. It tells a story about a time in the prehistoric era, when a couple of giants (yes, you read that right) - a man and a woman, fell in love. They had a beautiful, cozy home in Rila mountain and lived a happy, fulfilling life. However, just like in every fairy tale, there were evil forces who wished to destroy this little peace of heaven. They tried many times but the man protected every little peace of his home for years on end. Until one day, when the evil forces were finally able to fulfill their plan by killing the giant man and destroying his beautiful home. His wife was crushed and once she started crying, she couldn't stop. The lakes represent her eternal sorrow and devastation, but also the purity of her undying love for her man.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to reach the last two lakes as the kids started to get tired. It was also quite windy and cold - something we should have predicted, knowing we will be hiking through the highest mountain in Bulgaria. However, we still made it to The Kidney, which is the biggest of all seven lakes. And to be honest, props to the kiddos for hiking up until the fifth lake - the journey was quite challenging even for us, the adults.

At the end of the day, we went back home drained and worn out, but proud of what we had achieved. Personally, I was happy to have finally visited this iconic Bulgarian jewel. Nothing comes close to the feeling of accomplishment and pure joy when you fulfill one of your most cherished dreams. There's a certain kind of magic that filled my heart and left me speechless that day.
Hopefully next time, I'll be telling you about how I reached The Eye and The Tear 😉

All photos in this post belong to me.