Several mountains near Sofia offer wonderful opportunities to the citizens and the guests of Bulgaria’s capital to go out in the nature, relax and forget about their problems and busy daily routine for a while. Lyulin Mountain is one of them. It is much less popular among tourists as compared to Vitosha Mountain- the highest mountain near Sofia. However, those who decide to spend their spare time in Lyulin can stroll for hours across the mountain’s gentle slopes and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the fragrance of fresh mountain grass and herbs.

Dupevitsa is the highest peak in Lyulin Mountain. It raises 1,256 meters above sea level. "Lyulin is almost twice lower than Vitosha, but provides easy access to children, elderly people and people with health problems", Vladimir Georgiev told Radio Bulgaria. Vladimir has been going to this mountain since he was a small child. He was attracted by its beauty and currently is working over a project named New Light for Lyulin Mountain. He is making a local lore study within the frameworks of this project. People enjoy their walks in Lyulin in late spring and the autumn the most, Vladimir contends. The mountain is very accessible in the winter months, when snowfall is not that heavy. It is also a real pleasure to walk in that mountain during the cooler summer days:

The temperature difference with the nearby cities is not that big, because of the lower altitude. That is why people should go to higher mountains during the hot summer days if they want to escape from the heat.

Tourists can visit several monasteries in Lyulin Mountain: Klisura Monastery of St. Petka, St. St. Cyril and Methodius Monastery in Gorna Banya and Divotinski Monastery. The Divotinsky Monastery is the oldest one in the area. It was founded in 1046, Vladimir Georgiev said and told us a legend about the monastery:

Once, two countrymen found an earthen jar with treasure. They loaded the heavy treasure on a donkey and left home. Suddenly, the donkey collapsed between two mountain streamlets and died from exhaustion. The men decided to build a monastery on that place. The Holy Trinity monastery served as a literary center over the centuries. The monastery was burnt and rebuilt three times during the Ottoman Rule. It was reconstructed for the last time in 1902 and most of the money was donated by the Bulgarian King Ferdinand. The monastery has been enlarged with a new church and some farm buildings in the recent years with money allotted under various projects. There is an asphalt road connecting the monastery with the nearby village of Mihailovo which makes access by car easy.

Those who decide to visit the Gornobanski Monastery St. St. Cyril and Methodius can also go to the nearby All Saints Chapel. There is very little information about that chapel. In Vladimir Georgiev’s words, it was probably built in the 1970’s.

However, Vladimir outlines some negative trends during his multiple trips in this region:

The distance between the town of Bankya and the nearby villages was big until the late 1990’s. Now, the distance is too small due to the excessive construction in this area which took place in the recent years. Many forests were cut and the pathways are not maintained well and are now more difficult to pass.

Depopulation of the villages around Lyulin Mountan is huge. Some of the villages like Delyan, Zlatusha, Raduy and Mala Rakovitsa are cut off from the world and a dozen or few dozens of people live in them only.

Dragichevo, Divotino and Lyulin are the biggest villages in the area. The village of Lyulin is situated at the foot of Raylovo Gradishte peak (1.199 meters):

The legends have it that Raylovo Gradishte mount is one of the places that witnessed the battles between the Bulgarians and the Ottomans in the 14^th century. In 1961 two villages Raylovo and Tsarnel merged into a bigger village named Lyulin. Back in the 14^th century some of the people wounded in the battles with the Ottomans established a village at the foot of the peak and named it Raylovo, because at that time the Ottomans called the Bulgarian population raya.

Another interesting peak nearby Raylovo Gradishte is Krivi Kamuk. It is a stone pyramid which reveals wonderful scenery towards Vitosha Mountain. When skies are clear tourists can also see the slopes of Rila and Pirin mountains, as well as Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, the town of Bankya, the district city of Pernik, many villages in the Sofia valley, as well as villages situated in the valley between Lyulin and Viskyar mountains.

And even though somewhat underestimated, Lyulin Mountain is a pleasant vicinity well worth getting to know.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov