Musala

Musala is the largest, most picturesque and majestic peak not only in Bulgaria but also for the whole of Southeast Europe and Balkans in particular. With its altitude of 2925 meters, Musala occupies sixth place among the highest mountain points immediately after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna.

Musala stands dignified in the eastern part of the Rila Mountain, which is located in Bulgaria. The average temperature of Musala is 3.1 degrees, and its snow cover stays for 8 months.

It is believed that the origin of the name Musala comes from the Turkish language and literally translates as "path to God." In particular, the name probably comes from Allah mousse, which in Turkish means "mountain of Allah". The name comes from from the times when Bulgaria was under Turkish rule.

During the peak years, 1949-1962 Musala was called Stalin, named after the Russian dictator Josef Stalin. The first written evidence for the conquest of Musala dates back to antiquity - the time of Philip of Macedonia - the father of Alexander the Great.

Musala is not far from the famous resort of Borovets and is just 80 km from Sofia. In summer it is visited by many tourists from around the world, but most of the mountaineers are from Bulgaria and its neighbors.

At the top is built a meteorological station of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. The meteorological station itself gets many visitors to Musala, which is one of the 100 national tourist sites.

If you look at Musala from the north, it has the shape of a cone made of tough granite. From the south you can see the beautiful Pirin mountain with its highest peak of the Pirin. The western slopes of Mousala emerge from the valley of Beli Iskar.

For the first time in winter Musala was conquered in 1923 by a small group from the Sofia tourist company "Aleko Konstantinov", which was led by the famous writer, explorer and mountaineer, Paul Deliradev.

In 1932 on the occasion of the Second Polar Year the first high-mountain observatory in Bulgaria was built on the top, which is the highest in Southeast Europe. Today this place is a preserved building of the oldest hut in Musala , built in 1924 next to it is the building which was built in 1928 – 1930.

Climbing Musala is something quite unique and intriguing. Around 50, 000 people each year take the march for the conquest of Musala . At the foot of the very top is the winter resort Borovets.

There are two ways to conquer Musala - one is easy and the other more difficult and is associated with a continuous ascent of the mountain slopes. The easiest way is actually taking the lift from Borovets. Of course, it will take you directly to Musala, but only to Yastrebetz. From there you must follow the guides, which will then take you to the very top. The entire transition will take about 3-4 hours.

The Hut Musala is located at an altitude of 2430 m. To get to the Hut Musala you will need to pass through Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain chalet in Bulgaria.