Vitosha - Lyulin (Vladaya - Dupevitsa Peak - Bonsovi Meadows Hut - Kiliite Peak - Vladaya)
Starting point: quarter. Vladaya, the square at the municipality
Length: 22.4 km
Climb: 1050 м
Level of technical difficulty: on average (R1, R2, T2, T3)
Physical exertion: average (FSC=7)
Duration: 2-5 hours (depending on pace, breaks, etc. )
Water: 2 l; no fountains on the route
Food: for half a day; food is available at the Bonsa Meadows lodge
Terrain:
- asphalt - 5.0 km
- dirt roads - 6.9 km
- trails and paths - 10.5 km
The two mountains - Vitosha and Lyulin - are a great asset, and their proximity to each other allows all cycling enthusiasts to make a pleasant and inspiring ride that passes through both. In the present cycle route an intermediate variant in terms of technical difficulty and physical exertion is presented, that will definitely grab you.
On the territory of Lyulin Mountain the route includes a long and playful descent from Mt. Dupevitsa to the Bonsa Meadows hut along cycle paths that were specially built for mountain biking in the period 2022-2023, including the Pumba trail, which has become one of the most popular for riding near Sofia. On the Vitosha side, the climb from the v.z. Kiliite to the Tichiya Kut-Vladaya alley is also on a very pleasant trail, and above Vladaja the route deliberately makes an extra "ear" with a rather steep and strenuous climb, just to "catch" the last part of the descent on the trail from the "Red Hat" ("Composers") hut.
The route described below starts in the centre of the quarter. Vladaia, by the community center and the town hall, but you can also start from the large parking lot in m. Bonsovi Meadows.
Stage 1: Vladaia-vrs. Dupevitsa
From the centre of the quarter. Vladaya (item 01, 0.0 km) you go past the supermarket along ul. "Pliska" in a westerly direction. After 400 m (т.02) you reach a complex intersection of several streets - you cross a bridge over the r. Vladaiiska and continue along the street. "Priplat" in the northwest direction. В item 03 (0.65 km) turn left and after 50 m you will see an underpass under the main road to Pernik - go under it and enter the villa area Priplat, where in т.04 follow the main street right and up. You only drive straight along it, including the t.06 (1.8 km)where the road splits in two. В т.07 however (1.9 km) you have to leave the asphalt and continue the climb on the dirt road to the right, which goes under the fence of "Club Vladaia". In the following kilometres you ride along this well-trodden and clear dirt road, which is not too steep - there are even short descents in places. Most of the time there are green tourist markings along the road. At 08 and 09 you miss the dirt roads on the right , and at 10 you miss something in between a road and a trail on the left. В item 11 (3.4 km) to the left through the woods is a trail with green markings, but you must continue on the road. After 400 m in т.12 you're missing a logging road on the right.
At one point you come out on a steep open area with a nice panorama of Sofia and Vitosha. At the end of this climb - item 13 (4.1 km), just where the road makes a left turn, you cross a narrow path and have to follow it to the left. After the first 100-200 m, where it is more overgrown, the path "opens" slightly and becomes clearer. It will take you to a junction of several paths in the item 14 (4.7 km). Here you should continue along a slightly overgrown path to the right in the opposite direction to the previous one. It is steep, you may have to push, but only briefly. After a hundred metres in т.15 you exit onto a wide path made by ATVs and take a left on it.
В item 16 (5.0 km) you will see the old asphalt road to Mt. Dupevitsa, which now turns into dirt. Continue climbing left on it and note that this is the steepest part of the route. Uphill you follow only this main road, skipping the diversions to the left and right - there are these at point 17 (towards the Pumba cycle track), point 18 and point 19 (towards Vladaya). В item 20 (7.1 km) the road makes a wide turn to the right and enters through the portal of the former military unit built on Mt. Dupevitsa. After 500 m you reach the main plaza of the unit (т.21), where this first ascent ends. Dupevitsa Peak is to the left - you can detour to it if you wish.
Stage 2. Bonsa Meadows
From the plaza you must continue along a dirt road slightly to the right to a repeater and right at it in the т.23 (on its right side when you come from the plaza/top of Dupevitsa) begins the cycle path to the hut "Bonsovi Polyani". In many places the track runs parallel to the asphalt road that was the climb . В item 24 (8.9 km) cross another trail and continue along the "Pumba" cycle path, which with many turns will lead you to the "Bonsovi Meadows" hut (т.25), which is a great place to relax.
Stage 3: Bonsa Meadows - Kiliite
From the hut, continue along the trail to the parking lot in m. Monastery Meadows (т.27), where you turn right and drive along the main road through the h. Lyulin to item 28 (10.7 km), where it descends to the left and you have to continue ahead on a dirt road past the last houses. In the next 50 m to point 29 first you miss a road on the left, then one on the right, and finally the road splits and you have to follow the middle one, which also passes by some secluded villas. At the end of the villa area (t.30, 11.5 km) The road becomes narrow, steep and rutted, and then turns into a trail that is momentarily steep and rutted at first. В item 31 (11.7 km) the path splits in two, the right one is to the right, but you follow the left one. The trail is quite overgrown, but otherwise has little slope and is relatively smooth. It will lead you to a clearing (t.32, 11.9 km), where a steep, overgrown and very rutted dirt road comes from the left and continues to the right. However, you have to cross it and find the remnants of the trail on the other side of it to join after 100 meters (т.33) to the right and down another dirt road. is also steep and with deep ruts, but still slightly better as terrain. You descend gently and emerge into a wide meadow (t.34, 12.2 km), where you're on the right, and the road gets nice. After another 100 m there is a new fork (т.35) and you are right again. You descend through meadows and enter a forest, approaching Mala Koria - one of the villa areas of Knyazhevo. Just before you reach the first houses, in item 36 (13.1 km) you need to find a short forest path on the right, which leads directly down to the level crossing (т.37) and after carefully crossing you should proceed down the street to the main road Sofia - Pernik (t.38, 13.6 km).
Crossing the road is facilitated by a traffic light. You then head momentarily in the direction of Sofia, but after 50 m at the next traffic light (т.39) you turn right and enter the h. Kiliite, crossing a bridge over the r. Entering the Kililiya, you pass through the road leading to Kilili.
Stage 3: Kiliite- Vladaia
You miss the narrow road on the right just after the bridge and then the street splits (т.40), and you have to go up the steep climb on the right road. В item 41 (14.1 km) follow the street to the right, as the slope gets steeper. В т.42 at the T-junction you are right again, and at the т.43 you now turn left along the street and reach the end of the villa area (t.44, 14.7 km). There begins a wide and pleasant forest trail with a moderate incline. You may have to descend in places, but it's generally rideable. В т.45 (16.9) the path splits - you follow the left one. Soon after, in item 46 (17.3 km) turn left, climb a short but steep section and in т.47 you come out on the wide promenade from the Tihia nook to Vladaia.
You take the lane to the right, where you are mostly downhill. Skip any side turns - just ride straight ahead, and you can also use the Vitosha 100 markings. В item 48 (19.1 km) you reach the first houses of Vladaja.
We continue a little further down the lane and after a hundred meters in the t.49 (19.2 km) you will reach one of the most important crossroads on the route. Here you have to decide if you want to make a last push up the steepest climb of the route and then descend the final part of the trail from the Red Riding Hood hut for the prize. This is the main option and for it you need to turn left along the marking for Vitosha 100. But if you want to get home faster, you should continue down the path and after 2-3 serpentines you will find yourself at the end of the alley from the Golden Bridges - that is where the route in point 53 comes out.
If you have decided to follow the route all the way, then on the path to the left you must Start to climb up and into t.50 (19.9 km) to join the alley from Vladaya to the Golden Bridges, as the next 400-500 m are the muddiest in the whole route. Most people would prefer to push here. After crossing two wide serpentines, the lane becomes a bit flatter and in item 51 (20.4 km) at one water crossing you go over a bridge over the river and continue on a flat dirt road on the other side. В t.52 (20.8 km) the trail from the Red Riding Hood Hut comes from the left and you leave the dirt road to start the final descent to the right. Alternating wide serpentines and speed sections in between, the trail drops you at the upper end of Vladaia (t.53, 21.7 km), where is the beginning/end of the lane to/from the Golden Bridges. You take the street to the left and follow it down only, as in item 54 (22.1 km) you are on the street to the right and on it just straight out at the community center of Vladaia (т.55), which is next to the square where the route started.
