Hike The Donchovi Karauli Ridge in Pirin (near Bansko)

One of the more difficult and remote hikes in Pirin is the hike on the Donchovi Karauli ridge. It’s one of the hikes that I could not find ANY information about online, so I’m excited to share some and make it easier for you to do this hike as well. I have done this hike June 2024.

In this article you’ll find everything you need to know about the hike over the Donchovi Karauli ridge in Pirin National Park.

Last update & prices in the article are from May 2025.

Also read: Hike To Vihren Peak For Sunrise (July Morning Tradition!)

Practical info about the hike over the Donchovi Karauli ridge

Starting point for the hike: Vihren Hut. You can park close to the mountain hut or take a taxi/shuttle up to the hut from Bansko. These are the Google Maps coordinates for Vihren Hut.

Total kilometers: 12 kilometers in total

Elevation: 900 meters up and down

Hiking time: don’t trust Mapy.cz with the time with this hike (it says 5,5 hours). Usually it’s quite accurate, but this ridge will definitely take more time. It’s not walking, a lot of it is more like bouldering/climbing. I would say you’re hiking for about 7 hours and take 1-2 hours of breaks. So 9 hours in total.

Type of hike: this hike is a loop/circle

Dog friendly: my dog Bella has joined this hike. She is very active, but I think any dog with a decent level of fitness can do this hike. There are no lifts or ladders involved. There is one part where there are some big boulders: I had to give my dog a little push to get up on one rock, but that was about it. Usually you won’t encounter any shepherds with their cattle in this area, so no sheep dogs that can bother your dog either.

Hiking trail: you can open the hike on the Donchovi Karauli ridge on Mapy.cz via this link

Everything you need to know to hike the Donchovi Karauli ridge

1. Where is the Donchovi Karauli ridge?

The Donchovi Karauli ridge is in Pirin National Park in Bulgaria. The nearest town is Bansko.

Although you probably don’t recognize the name, you have probably seen this ridge if you have been to the Vihren Hut. It’s the ridge that you see from the bridge right in front of you (after 10-15 minutes of walking into the valley of the Vihren Hut).

During this hike over the ridge you can tick multiple peaks off that are above 2500m in Pirin National Park: Banderishki Chukar (2738m) and Donchovi Karauli 1-2-3-4 (2649m-2597m). If you are really on a roll you can also tick off a few other peaks that are slightly off the trail: Bashliyski Chukar (2674m) and Spanopolski Peak (2575m).

James from Coliving Avalon created a nice challenge called The Davies. During this challenge you hike in Pirin National Park and tick off all these peaks above 2500m: 90 in total! You can ask for a map and more info via Coliving Avalon.

2. How do you get to the starting point of this hike?

This hike over the Donchovi Karauli ridge starts at the Vihren Hut in Pirin National Park. There are several ways to get from Bansko to the Vihren Hut:

• I have done this hike as a day hike from Bansko. If you have a car you can leave early in the morning from Bansko to the Vihren Hut. It’s about 25 minutes driving from Bansko to the hut, the starting point of this hike. Keep in mind that it’s getting quite busy in the summer months, so between June and September you have to drive up before 8.00. Parking at the Vihren Hut is free.
• It’s also possible in the summer months to take a shuttle bus up from Bansko to the Vihren Hut. The first shuttle bus goes up at 8.30 starting at the Train Station. Another place to get into the shuttle bus is Hotel Kempinski in the gondola area. Check the shuttle bus times here. A bus ticket is 12 leva (€6) per person.
• In case you can’t drive up yourself, it’s always possible to take a taxi to the hut. I have not done this myself, but I have heard people taking taxi’s for 40 leva (€20) per car.
• And last but not least: you can take the gondola up to the upper station, Banderiska Polyana. From here you walk in about 1 hour to the Vihren Hut. The elevation of this part is about 350 meters.

3. What should you bring for this hike?

The time of the year influences what you have to bring for this hike. It’s best to use layers for your clothes, since you’re in the mountains and most of the year it’s quite chilly, even in summer. I did this hike in July and although it was warm, when it was windy on the ridge I needed my jacket.

I would recommend bringing the following for your hike:

• Water bottle or Camelbak
• Snacks and lunch: there is the Vihren Hut at the beginning and the end where you can buy food and drinks. The rest of the hike you won’t have the option to buy anything, so bring enough snacks.
• Water- and windproof jacket
• Hiking shoes or comfortable shoes to walk
• Hiking poles to stabilize yourself on the big rocks (not necessary, but some people love it)
• Beanie to keep your head warm or a cap to keep the sun out of your face
• Sunglasses for a sunny day
• Sunscreen, since the sun can be quite intense in the mountains
• First Aid Kit, because you never know when you need it
• Camera gear, to capture all that beauty!

4. When is the best time to do the Donchovi Karauli hike in Pirin?

Technically you can do the hike over this ridge all year round, but the best time is between early June and late October. Between November and May there is usually still snow in the mountains. Not only is it more dangerous with a chance of avalanches, but the snow will slow you down a lot as well. Only experienced hikers with equipment should do this hike in winter.

In my opinion June and September are the best months, since it is less busy in the mountains, but the weather is good and you have enough daylight to make this hike in a comfortable way. But since this is a bit of a technical hike you won’t encounter many people anyway. In July I saw less than 10 people on the ridge on the same day I hiked it.

5. Accommodation for this hike

Stay in a mountain hut

It is possible to sleep in the Vihren Hut, at the start of the hike to Sinanitsa. This is great if you don’t have your own transportation and you want to make the trip a bit more relaxed. Sleeping in the Vihren Hut is about 25 leva (€13) per person.

Wild camping & camping

There is a designated camping area called Banderitsa Camping. The camping area is half way between Banderishka Polyana and Vihren Hut. You can camp here (or stay with a camper van). There are toilets, but no bathrooms. As far as I know there is no electricity, so make sure you bring a powerbank.

Although wild camping is not allowed in Pirin (since it’s a national park), I have seen numerous people camping close to Muratovo Lake. Also when you climb up after the lakes, just before you reach the start of the ridge, there are a few convenient camping spots. Always make sure you leave the place exactly how it is and bring your trash with you.

Staying in Bansko

Of course you can also stay in Bansko if you want to hike in Pirin National Park. A few recommendations when you want to stay in Bansko (accommodations that are open all year, not only in the winter season):

• Belvedere Holiday Club: nice hotel with spa facilities and a pool. I have seen multiple apartments in this complex and it always looks nice and clean. Just a few minutes walk to the gondola.
• Parklands Hotel & Pool: great value for money in this hotel in the gondola area. It has a good location and it has facilities like an indoor swimming pool, a sauna and a fitness area.
• Kempinski Hotel: if you want to splurge and indulge in some luxury, you should go for Kempinski, right next to the gondola. Most rooms have a lovely view on the ski road and the mountains. The shuttle bus to Vihren Hut stops right in front of the hotel and the spa facilities are amazing – great after a long day of hiking!

6. My experience with the Donchovi Karauli ridge: in 3 parts

I really enjoyed this hike, since it’s one of the hikes that feels a bit more technical. You still don’t need any climbing/via ferrata equipment, but part of this hike is walking and part of it is climbing big boulders. I really like that, so this was a great hike for me. I also loved it that almost nobody hikes this ridge, even in summer. So if you want to have the mountains almost all to yourself this hike is a great option.

I can also imagine though that this is a bit much for some hikers. A friend of mine joined and even though he’s fit, he said it was mentally quite a challenge with all the boulders. Because even though the elevation is not that much (900 meters), the climbing will slow you down and it might be uncomfortable for your knees. I would recommend bringing some hiking poles or knee bands with you if your knees are hurting easily. Just take your time and make sure you start early, so you don’t have to hike in the dark.

I will break down this hike in 3 different parts:

• 1. From the Vihren Hut to the start of the ridge, via the lakes
• 2. Hiking the Donchovi Karauli ridge
• 3. From Banderishka Porta back to Vihren Hut, via Muratovo Lake

1. Vihren Hut – start of the ridge (via the lakes)

I would say this part of the hike is very gradual. You go up a bit, but until the lakes it’s nothing too difficult. From the Vihren Hut you will reach the bridge at the river in 10-15 minutes. From there you cross the bridge, so you’re on the left side of the river.

In about 1-1,5 hour you walk from Vihren Hut to Frog Lake. In summer you will either see hundreds of tadpoles (June-July) or little frogs (July-August) in this lake. From here you walk in 5-10 minutes to the big lake: Dalgoto Lake. From here it starts to be a bit more technical. You follow the boulder trail via the big rocks. And yes: sometimes it already feels a bit like bouldering and climbing.

This part of the trail is als a good 45 to 60 minutes of going uphill. Keep following the small rock pyramids, so you don’t get off track. Right before the start of the ridge there is a lake, which is a nice place for a little break.

2. Hiking the Donchovi Karauli ridge

After 2 to 3 hours of hiking you get to the start of the Donchovi Karauli ridge. I have to say: the first part of this ridge is the hardest. It’s a lot of big boulders and it kinda feels like it’s never ending. But that makes it even more nice when you finally reach the first peak: Banderishki Chukar. There is a little cross with a wooden sign on the peak, and it has some amazing views over the Vihren valley with the lakes.

Extra: if you want to tick off an additional peak you can go from this peak towards the peak of Bashliyski Chukar in the south. Add at least 1 – 1,5 hours to your hike if you want to go to this peak and back. It doesn’t look far, but this extra ridge is quite tricky.

And what goes up, must come down… It can be a bit demotivating to go down if you see another peak right in front of you. But that makes this ridge also dynamic: it has quite a wild look with the different peaks standing apart from each other.

Be careful when you go downhill on the rocks, it can have impact on your knees so just take it slow and use hiking poles if you want to. I rather have my hands free to use those to climb down, but hiking poles will definitely make the shock on your knees less impactful.

The last part of the ridge, on the Donchovi Karauli peaks (1 to 4) is breathtaking, but also a bit confusing. You sometimes really have to search where the trail is going. We had to scout a few times to see if we could climb around some boulders or if we had missed the trail and had to go back a bit. This makes it adventurous, but at some point you also just wanna go down and finish the ridge.

Finally you will get to the end of the ridge and you will reach Banderishka Porta, the gateway to do to other peaks like Sinanitsa Peak and Muratov Peak. If you still have energy you can of course visit more peaks, but for now we’ll just walk downhill towards the Vihren Hut again.

The hike over the Donchovi Karauli ridge will take 3 to 4 hours.

3. From Banderishka Porta back to Vihren Hut, via Muratovo Lake

The last part is not too difficult and is only going downhill. But since your legs were working hard on the ridge, you might feel them while hiking downhill. This part is quite nice, since you pass the Muratov Lake. It will bring you back to the valley with the river, all the way to the Vihren Hut again. You’ll see that you arrive at the bridge now on the other side.

This is a great hike for more experienced hikers to see the diversity of Pirin National Park. If you’re in for something more extreme and adventurous I really recommend this hike!

Also read: Hike To The Mighty Todorka Peak – 3 Different Routes To Get There

I hope this article is helpful and makes you excited to also do this hike in Pirin. Please let me know if anything is still unclear or if you have more questions about this hike, via a comment below or an email to jessica@explorebulgarianow.com.

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