Hike to the famous rock "Stolo" in Ponor mountain

One Saturday morning in April we left the Russian Monument for a 38-person group with mountain guide Evgeni Dinchev from Bg Trekking. We hadn't come across such a large group in the mountains in a long time.

We moved to the village of Gorna Dobravitsa through Svoge, Iskrets and Breze. From there we walked for about two hours to Stolo - an interesting rock phenomenon. We all carried backpacks - something we can't do without in the mountains. We had also taken raincoats because the forecast was not very good. In fact, we didn't use the raincoats because it wasn't raining, but whoever wore a windproof jacket was lucky because the wind was really persistent.

After we all took a pile of photos of the interesting grooved rocks of Stolo, we headed to the highest peak of Mount Ponor - Prepasnitsa. Of course, the top was photographed - with us or without us. The trekking poles we carried helped us a lot on the downhill, as they absorb the strain on our knees and we get less tired. Although we were a really big group, we walked briskly and reached the starting point on time.

* Prepasnitsa peak

This transition takes about 5 hours at a leisurely pace.

Summer hiking boots can be used, but with a waterproof membrane, because we never know what surprises the mountain can bring us.

And don't forget to use Nikwax spray before the transition for extra protection against wetting of the shoes with a waterproof membrane. This way you guarantee that they will withstand torrential long rains if you accidentally collide with them.