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Vitosha is situated close to Sofia and offers locals and tourists walk in the mountains just half an hour from the city center. Cherni vrah (Black Peak) is the highest peak of Vitosha mountain with an altitude of 2290 meters and the fourth highest in Bulgaria. It is available for climbing for both experienced hikers and for people just decided to spend the day outdoors.

Black Peak, along with nearby Mount Rezniove shapes the ridge of Mount Vitosha, which is the only bowl mountain in Bulgaria. From top reveals a picturesque view of Sofia and the Sofia field. Quite near to the peak the weather station is located, built in 1935. That is not accidental, because Black Peak is one of the windiest mountain in Bulgaria.

If you decide to reach the top, you can choose from the following routes: Option one includes a transition from the Golden Bridges through Kumata hut, from where it continues to Black Peak. The route lasts about three and a half hours.

Another option involves a long trek from the village Yarlovo in peak Siva gramada, where the route continues to Black Peak. If you choose this trek, you should be prepared for a long walk - at least five hours.

Black Peak is available from the following points: Aleko (hour and a half), hut Tintyava (three and a half hours), Chalet Edelweiss (two and a half hours) and village Chuypetlovo (four and a half hours). It is better to be careful and make a preliminary study as a clear mark is only part of the route.

Vitosha has long lost its wild and inhospitable appearance. At the moment through paved road and two lifts pass through the mountain. Vitosha is one of the most favorite places to visit by local people during the whole year, but the influx of tourists is especially high in winter when the snow-covered slopes of Cherni vrah daily are visited by ski and snowboard tourists.

Black Peak is a special place in the history of the Bulgarian tourist traffic. It is its ascent, organized by the writer Aleko Konstantinov on August 27, 1895, that is considered the birth date of organized tourism and the Bulgarian Tourist Union (BTU). Every year on that date, hundreds of tourists climb the peak. In the name of the writer and his nickname - Lucky - is baptized the famous hut, which welcomes tourists year-round.

Vitosha is the first national park not only in Bulgaria, but on the Balkans also. Most of the mountain was declared a protected territory in 1934. Part of the park is the reserve Torfeno branishte, which is located almost at Cherni vrah. It is home to more than 300 species of mosses and 500 species of algae. Initially, it held a much smaller area (about 144 hectares), but this area has increased to nearly 790 hectares in 1980. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve the peat complexes in the higher parts of the Vitosha mountain in its natural state. The thickness of the peat cover in places reaches up to 2 meters. The peat is at the age of over 1000 years.

In the reserve Vladayska, Boyana and Dragalevska rivers originate, that pass through the territory of Sofia.