На юг от Стара планина

Tour to the south of the Balkan Mountains with a double crossing of the ridge. Climbing to Vitinya (940 m above sea level), 19 km, of which the actual climb is about 10 km with an elevation gain of around 650 meters. Followed by a descent on the old road to Eleshnitsa. The section between Zherkovo and Eleshnitsa is horribly bad. From Eleshnitsa, you continue to Stolnik and then head east on the E871 (Burgas). Starting flat, after Gorna Malina follows a climb, probably around 150-200 meters of elevation gain. Then a descent to Sarantsi and then again a climb, which is more serious than that at Gorna Malina. After a short descent, you reach the fork to Gorno Kamarci. From there to the village, there are climbs and descents. Then another 4 km up to the pass Arabakonaak (970 m above sea level, 200+ meters of elevation gain). Followed by a long descent to the connection with the road to Vitinya (where we passed at the beginning). Another 11 km of descent to Botevgrad. Water along the way is available up to Vrachesh and then at Vitinya. In spring, you can also drink from various streams along the road, but in summer they can't be relied upon. Food at Vitinya is only available during the week. In Zherkovo, nothing has been functioning for quite some time. Beyond that, it’s more civilized. You should stock up on water in Gorno Kamarci before climbing to Arabakonaak. The first 2.5 km descent north of Arabakonaak is very steep, there are new holes and fallen stones, and you need to be careful. After that, the road is narrow and there may be unexpected encounters with cars.