Vitosha Mountain is located at an elevation of 1800 meters above sea level. The total area covered by Vitosha is 278 square kilometers. The highest peak of the mountain of Vitosha is Cherni Vrah situated at an elevation of 2290 meters above sea level. It is one of the favorite destinations of the hikers and happens to be the fourth largest mountain of Bulgaria.
The Vitosha Mountain range is mostly made up of granite rocks; but those in the southern part are made up of Karst rocks. The topography from northwest to the south- east is somewhat prolonged. One of the unique features of the Vitosha Mountain of Sofia is the 'stone rivers', which are piles of granite rocks found in the river valleys. These river valleys have a length of up to 2 kilometers and a breadth of 50 meters.
Vitosha Mountain is encircled by Sofia plain in the north and north-east. Egulo-Palakari Saddle cuts the mountain from Plana Mountain in the west. Samokov Plain is located in the south whereby Buka Preslav Saddle cuts Vitosha from Verila. The mountain can be divided into 4 ranges that is, northern, eastern, northwestern and southwestern.
The northern range sloping down to Sofia plain has 4 distinct parts namely Vladaya, Knyazhevo, Dragalevtsi and Simeonovo. This part bordering the Verila Mountain consists of three parts:
Vetren part: The peaks include Skoparnik (2226 m), Kupena (2195 m), Siva Gramada (2003 m).
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Middle part: Petruska having the peak of Petrus (1454 m).
Bosneshka part: Krasta peak (1561 m) falls in this part. Duhlata, the longest cave of Bulgaria and Jivata voda water spring is located here.
The northwestern range bordering Lyulin Mountain is called Silimishki. The various peaks of this range are Samara peak (2108 m), Silimitca (2014 m), Ostretc (1836 m) and Ostritca (1696 m). Saint Nicolas Monastery can be reached by a 15 minutes walk from chalet Selimitsa located in the northwestern range of Vitosha. There are small resort villages surrounding the mountain.
Aleko and Zlatnite Mostove (The Golden Bridges) are the two tourist centers of the Vitosha Mountain range. Aleko is a well-known ski-center located in the eastern part of the mountain. There are good accommodation options for the tourists over here. Aleko is the starting point of climbing the Cherni Vrah peak. Zlatnite Mostove is situated in the northern range of the mountain of Vitosha. There are many cafes, shops, rest houses and pavilions in this place. Hikers can also start their journey for Cherni Vrah peak from here. There is a meteorological station at Cherni Vrah, which is operational since 1935.
Dragalevtzi Monastery and Boyana Church are the two major attractions located near the Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Bistrishko Branishte and Torfeno Branishte, two biosphere reserves are located here. Rock climbing can be done in the eastern part of the Vitosha Mountain.
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