The Boyana Waterfall is the highest waterfall in Vitosha Mountain. It is about 25 meters high and is formed by the Boyana River. Its waters fall from a rather relief rock crown. In many articles it is mentioned as the “andesite rock crown”. It was not clear to me what type of rock crown this was, so I took the trouble to check – andesite is a type of volcanic rock. Apparently the rock under the waters of the Boyana Waterfall is exactly that.
The Boyana Waterfall is not the only waterfall in Vitosha. You can also walk to the Aleko’s Waterfalls – upper and lower, and to the Samokovishteto waterfall above Bistritsa district.
We have visited the Boyana Waterfall several times, mostly in the summer and starting from the Boyana district, but once we went to see it in the middle of a frosty January, when it was frozen. Then we approached from the Golden Bridges. Our last (so far) hike was in mid-December. The waterfall was full and beautiful, showing us all its beauty.
In the article below, I will briefly tell you about the routes to the Boyana Waterfall and about one of our memorable visits, which was dedicated not only to it, but also to the other waterfalls along the Boyana River.
Routes to Boyana Waterfall
The two most popular routes to Boyana Waterfall start in the capital’s Boyana district, more precisely the upper end of the district, where the Vitosha trails begin. You can get there by car and park on the street.
You can also get there by public transport – by bus 64, getting off at the “Boyansko hanche” stop and then walking up towards the Boyana Church, or by bus 107 to the “Boyanska Tsarkva” stop. For information on the timetable and route, see here.
There are two paths up to the waterfall – one is marked in green and the other in red. Both paths start at the stairs above the street. There are arrow signs for each of them at the beginning of the routes.
For your information, the route to Boyana Lake also starts from there, and it is marked in blue.
Boyana Quarter – Boyana Waterfall, green marking
About 150 meters after the start, the paths to the Boyana Waterfall split – the one with the green marking deviates to the left, and the other, with the red marking – to the right. The “green” path smoothly climbs up and reaches just above the Boyana Waterfall. In its upper part there are places where views of Sofia and Kopitoto open up.
After reaching above the waterfall, you take a slightly steep descent towards it, but the descent is short.
The route is about 4 kilometers long and can be taken in about an hour and a half to two.
Boyana Quarter – Boyana Waterfall, red marking
This path is shorter and, accordingly, steeper. In places there are narrow and slippery sections, and further up – there are slightly more extreme places that require climbing or are slightly narrow. Overall, I wouldn’t describe it as that difficult, but it depends on your experience. A little below the waterfall, the trail is secured with a stable metal railing.
The trail runs not far from the river and at times you can see beautiful waterfalls. There are several branches along the trail that approach the river. They are steep and slippery, but are marked with danger signs. To avoid them, follow the red markings. They are good and distinguishable.
The “red” route is 2.3 kilometers long and takes approximately one hour and fifteen minutes to complete.
Both routes – with green and red markings – overcome a positive elevation gain of about 450 meters.
Boyana Waterfall – upper edge
In addition to enjoying the waterfall at its foot, you can climb above it where the water starts to fall. But you have to be careful, because it is a precipice down.
From the upper edge of the Boyana Waterfall, Sofia opens up like a palm in a very beautiful panoramic view. Slightly to the right of the horizon dominates the Stara Planina peak Murgash. One can stand for a long time, captivated by this view and recognizing what is where.
How to get to the upper edge? The path to it goes around the waterfall on the left and goes up (from there the route with green markings descends). After climbing a little, you join a more horizontal path, where you have to turn right. Watch for signs to the upper edge (горен ръб) of the waterfall.
Circular route to Boyana Waterfall
The two routes from Boyana to Boyana Waterfall can be combined into a circular route. If you decide to do so, I recommend that you climb along the red marking and descend along the green one. In addition, you can enrich your walk by turning to Boyana Lake on the way down. Just above the lake, the trail splits into three – the green-marked route that is to Boyana branches off to the left, and the other two branches will take you down to Boyana Lake. Then from the lake to Boyana, you follow the blue marking.
On our last walk to Boyana Waterfall, we took this circular route, going to the upper edge of the waterfall. The distance we covered was just over 6 km, and it took us about 3 hours without breaks. You can download a GPS track of this circular route here.
Golden Bridges – Boyana Waterfall
How to get to the Golden Bridges (Zlatnite mostove) see here.
The trail starts from the stone river and is marked with yellow signs. The route passes by the Momina Skala hut and the large meadow in front of it – a suitable place for a short rest before continuing to the Boyana waterfall. Up to this point, the hike is easy and pleasant, and the trail is wide and comfortable. Then the trail enters the forest completely, where in places it becomes narrower, steeper and slippery.
The hike from the Golden Bridges to the Boyana waterfall takes about an hour and a half.
One of our hikes to Boyana Waterfall with exploration of other waterfalls as well
It was Sunday when we decided to take another walk to Vitosha – from Boyana to the Boyana Waterfall. We hadn’t been there for a long time, and we accidentally came across some sparse information on the Internet about a small but beautiful waterfall on the Boyana River – Zvercheto (means the little animal), which we wanted to see. We didn’t know exactly in which part of the river this waterfall was located and how to get to it. But we were aware that it was located somewhere along the path from Boyana to the great Boyana waterfall.
So, we set off for Boyana, left the car in the upper part of the neighborhood, where the paths up to the Boyana Waterfall in Vitosha begin.
We decided, without much hesitation, to first get to the Boyana Waterfall, to stand in the coolness under its spray, and then on the way back, to calmly look around for other waterfalls along the river. We reached the waterfall as planned in about an hour. And there were so many people around it that we could barely find a good spot at its foot.
We stood, took pictures, got a little wet, and headed back the same way. Where the trail and terrain allowed, we went down as close to the river as possible. And so it started – we photographed waterfall after waterfall. There were some smaller waterfalls, but there were also taller ones.
From the photo on strannik.bg, I believe the waterfall below is probably the one we were searching for – Zvercheto. But who knows? I couldn’t find any reliable information about it; it doesn’t appear on the official Vitosha National Park website, nor on the tourist map of Vitosha that we used as a guide.
In any case, whether or not Zvercheto truly exists, the walk from Boyana to the Boyana Waterfall is a delightful experience – a little more demanding than a stroll in the park, but still easy enough to enjoy on a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
Final thoughts
I read in several articles that at high water and in clear weather, the Boyana Waterfall can be seen from the center of Sofia as a silver thread in the middle of the Vitosha slope. I have tried several times to “catch” it from the square near the National Palace of Culture, but I have not been successful so far and I cannot confirm that it is possible.
Other interesting places nearby that you should definitely visit are the Boyana Church with its incredible medieval frescoes, a UNESCO site, and the Boyana Lake.
👉 See also: Cherni Vrah: routes from all directions
