Bike trip to Zagaza Hut

This is a more unusual trip to Zagaza Hut by bike. Until now, I had been to the hut several times by bike, starting from Kresna. This time, we set off from Blagoevgrad through Brezhani, Senokos, and from there to Zagaza Hut.

We left Blagoevgrad in the direction of Simitli at a normal pace to warm up our muscles before the big climb. We took a short break in Simitli, then passed through Cherniche and began climbing through the village of Poleto towards Brezhani.

The village of Poleto has a neighborhood called Nivoto, which is quite steep until you get there, not that the slope up to Brezhani is any less steep. In Brezhani, we took another break to wait for our group, which had spread out during the climb.

After Brezhani, there was another climb until we reached the village of Rakitna. Beautiful views of Pirin and the surrounding valleys opened up. After Rakitna, there is a long descent of about 2.5 km, followed by another climb through a former open-pit coal mine. After this climb, you reach the vicinity of the village of Mechkul.

If you turn right, you will go to the chapel of St. Mina, where we have been before on our bikes. It is an interesting place and worth visiting at least once. We continued to Mechkul, where we took another break to wait for each other.

Another climb followed to Seneokos, where we took another break. We walked to the former inn, which is now a ruin. The inn used to be prosperous, but those days of mule caravans passing through the mountains are long gone.

After Senokos, we continued for a few kilometers along the road leading to Oshchava. But at one point, we turned left and began another climb. The road winds through the mountains and gradually climbs until it reaches a place called Nivcha, which offers a beautiful view of the Pirin peaks. From the turn-off to Nivcha, it is 17 kilometers of mainly uphill climbing, with a few short descents.

From Nivcha to the Zagaza hut, there are several kilometers of steep descent, so you have to drive carefully because there are quite a few rocks and potholes in places.

We reached the Zagaza hut a little before 4 p.m. There we quickly ate a sandwich, refilled our water bottles, and then quickly set off for Kresna. We finished at Vodenichkata, drank a beer while waiting for the train that would take us back to Blagoevgrad.