Aleko ( bg, Алеко) is a site on

Vitosha Mountain Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conven ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

situated at the northern foothills of

Malak Rezen Malak Rezen ( bg, Малък Резен / ‘Little Slice’) is a peak rising to 2,191 m in northeastern Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria. The peak is situated 1.5 km northeast of the summit Cherni Vrah, and 1.3 km north by east of G ...

Peak (2191 m), in the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Yanchevska River draining eastwards towards the village of

Bistritsa, Sofia Bistritsa ( bg, Бистрица, also transcribed as Bistritza or Bistrica) is a large village in the Pancharevo municipality, located at 15 km to the south of the capital Sofia. it has 5,118 inhabitants. Bistritsa is among the oldest villa ...

. Aleko is the principal

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

and

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...

centre on Vitosha, offering accommodation at Aleko Chalet (1820 m) and few

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, and several

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

surface lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

s and

ski run A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s, cafeterias and restaurants, and

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

and

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

schools. The oldest and most popular ski run is Stenata (‘The Wall’), while the longest and most difficult one is ‘Vitoshko Lale’ originally built for the 1983

Winter Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

held on Vitosha. Nowadays Aleko is among Bulgaria's top

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

s together with

Bansko Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m AMSL, above sea level. It is a ski resort. Legends There are several legends about who founded Bansko. Ac ...

Pirin Mountain The Pirin Mountains ( bg, Пирин ) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren at an altitude of 2,914 m being the highest peak. The range extends about 80 km from the north-west to the south-east and is about 40 ...

Borovets Borovets ( bg, Боровец ), known as Chamkoria ( ) until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m. Borovets is located appr ...

Rila Mountain Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila– Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,92 ...

, and

Pamporovo Pamporovo ( bg, Пампорово, ''pronunciation'': /pam'porovo/) is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria. It is set amongst Norway spruce forests and is primarily visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding. ...

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

. The site is accessible by a 6.27 km

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...

from Sofia's suburb of Simeonovo, and by road from the suburb of

Dragalevtsi Dragalevtsi ( bg, Драгалевци ) is a neighborhood of Sofia, which is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. It is part of the administrative district "Vitosha" of Sofia Municipality. Dragalevtsi is an affluent quarter built up with luxu ...

. Aleko is also the starting point of a number of tourist tracks leading to

Cherni Vrah Cherni Vrah ( bg, Черни връх , "Black Peak") is the summit of Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria. Rising to 2290 m, the peak is the fourth highest mountain summit in the country after Musala (2925 m, Rila Mountain), Vihren (2914 ...

and further south to the villages of

Chuypetlovo Chuypetlovo ( bg, Чуйпетлово, "Hear the rooster") is a village in the Pernik municipality of Pernik Province, western Bulgaria. Its population is 57 as of January 2007. Chuypetlovo is the only settlement in the interior of Vitosha Mou ...

and

Yarlovo Yarlovo ( bg, Ярлово) is a village in Samokov municipality of Sofia Province in South-West Bulgaria. It is located 24 kilometers away from Sofia. Located on the West slope of the Vitosha mountain massif, the altitude exceeds 1000 meters. ...

, to

Bistrishko Branishte Bistrishko Branishte ( bg, Бистришко бранище) is a nature reserve in the Vitosha Nature Park on Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria. It was established in 1934, together with Vitosha Nature Park. Since 1977 it has been a biosphere r ...

Nature Reserve to the east, and to

Zlatnite Mostove Zlatnite Mostove ( bg, Златните мостове, ‘Golden Bridges’) is the largest stone river on Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. The feature is situated in the valley of Vladayska River, extending 2.2 km, and up to 150 m wide, wit ...

to the northwest. A monument on the nearby Mecha Polyana (‘Bear Meadow’) commemorates Bulgaria's foreign minister

Ivan Bashev Ivan Hristov Bashev ( bg, Иван Христов Башев) (11 February 1916 – 13 December 1971) was a Bulgarian diplomat and Foreign Minister of Bulgaria from 1962 to 1971. Bashev headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until his death ...

who died in December 1971 in a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

that swept the area. Such accidents are not uncommon to Vitosha, with inadequately equipped or overconfident visitors overwhelmed by fast deteriorating weather. Aleko is a major base of the

Mountain Rescue Service Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

network on Vitosha Mountain. Aleko takes its name from the homonymous

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...

built in 1924 (second in Bulgaria after Skakavitsa Chalet in

), and named for the

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Aleko Konstantinov Aleko Konstantinov ( bg, Алеко Константинов) (1 January 1863 – 11 May 1897) ( NS: 13 January 1863 – 23 May 1897) was a Bulgarian writer, best known for his character Bay Ganyo, one of the most popular characters in Bulgarian ...

who organized the first group climbing of

on August 27, 1895.

Gallery

Image:Stenata.jpg, Stenata ski run at Aleko ski centre

References

Bulgaria Ski: Vitosha

Vitosha Mountain

Vitosha Nature Park
Website.
Zone Bulgaria: Vitosha

Vitosha Map
{{Bulgarian ski resorts Ski areas and resorts in Bulgaria Vitosha Geography of Sofia City Province

Gallery

See also

References