Sofia

Golden Bridges Area

The Golden Bridges area is located in Vitosha Mountain and represents the largest stone river in Bulgaria. The name comes from the golden color of the lichens that cover the huge rocks. From the Golden Bridges, you can reach Cherni Vrah by two main routes, which pass through many of the well-known Vitosha mountain huts.

Boyana Waterfall

Boyana Waterfall is the largest waterfall on Vitosha Mountain. The water drop is about 20 meters high. The waterfall can be reached by three main trails. The fastest and relatively easiest access is from Kopitoto — it takes about an hour. The other two possible trails start from the area above the Boyana Church.

Boyana Church of Sts. Nicholas and Panteleimon

The Boyana Church of Sts. Nicholas and Panteleimon is a medieval Bulgarian church (originally a court chapel, later a monastery) located in the Boyana district of Sofia, at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. It is one of the cultural symbols of Bulgaria and was inscribed in 1979 as a cultural monument on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. It can be reached by an asphalt road with a bus.

The church was built in 1259, after Tsar Kaloyan added a new church to the old one. The temple has two floors and belongs to the type of two-story tomb churches — the first level serving as a crypt (tomb) and the upper one as a family chapel.

The construction of the church began at the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century.

Of unique artistic value are the world-famous frescoes from 1259, painted by the so-called Boyana Master and a group of medieval artists and his students, among whom was Dimitri Zograf.