Questions on 5-day hiking tour in the Pirin or Rila mountains
Hi there,
I am planning a hike with three friends in the Pirin and/or Rila mountains in early September and I have some questions about it. We start in Sofia on the first day (a Monday) and have to be back in Sofia on the 5th day (Friday). So, ideally, we would do half-day hikes on the first day and the last day and three full-day hikes inbetween. We are in our mid-40s and somewhat experienced alpine hikers.
I thought about the following itinerary in the Pirin mountains:
Day 1 - Bus from Sofia to Bansko, then hike from Bansko to Banderitsa hut
Day 2 - Hike from Banderitsa hut to Vihren hut (via the Vihren peak)
What would be the best way to do this? Ascend the peak from the north and then descend to the south? Or take the same route up and down?
Day 3 - Hike from Vihren hut to Begovitsa hut (via Spano Pole shelter)
Day 4 - Hike from Begovitsa hut to Demjanitsa hut (via Tevno ezero)
Day 5 - Hike from Demjanitsa hut to Bansko, then back to Sofia by bus
This to me seems like an itinerary that is both doable and beautiful. But I don't know the region at all, so what do you think? Is this doable and worthwile (too long, too short, too difficult, etc.)? And would you do it this way around or the other way around?
Or, in general, would you recommend to choose another itinerary for such a 5-day hiking tour in the Pirin mountains OR in the Rila mountains? (That depends very much on personal preferences, I guess, but feel free to share your thoughts!)
And, lastly, some more generic questions (I steal from a similar post here from two months ago): Is is necessary to book the mountain huts in advance? How do we do this? Is early September a good time to go? How crowded will it be up there? Do you have any other tips for me?
Thank you so much in advance for answering (some of) my questions! We are really looking forward to visiting Bulgaria!