Samokov, Borovets and Malyovitsa
Access to the northern slopes of the Rila Mountains is provided by the burgeoning package resort of Borovets, and its smaller, less-developed neighbour Malyovitsa. Occasional buses run direct to both places from Sofia, although it's easier to pick up one of the half-hourly services from Sofia's Yug terminal to the provincial town of Samokov, from which there are numerous onward services. Samokov itself has sufficient historic interest to merit a stop-off of an our or two, but is hardly the kind of place that you'd want to plan your holiday around. Of the numerous hiking possibilities in the region, there are a couple of classic walking routes over the mountains from Malyovitsa to Rila Monastery; those heading to the monastery by public transport will have to Head back to Samokov, catch a bus to Dupnitsa, and change there. The one-hour journey from Sofia to Samokov follows a scenic, forest-shrouded road up the narrow valley of the River Iskar, passing the rather down-at-heel water-sports centre of Lake Pancharevo after about 10km. Entering the defile between the Lozhen and Plana massifs, you should be able glimpse the ruined fortress of Urvich, where Tsar Shishman allegedly with- stood the Turks for seven years; on the opposite bank, Zheleznitsa monastery lurks deep in the forest. There's a scattering of restaurants along the road catering for Sofia folk out for a weekend drive: the Zlatna Ribka, about 10km beyond Lake Pancharevo, just before the village of Pasarel, is renowned for offering excellent local carp and trout. Beyond Pasarel lies the massive Iskar Dam and Lake Iskar - a man-made body of water 16km long, sometimes known as the "Sea of Sofia".