Kom–Emine ( bg, „Ком – Емине“) is a high-mountain long-distance trail in

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 Macedo ...

. The route follows the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains, which bisect the country and give the Balkan Peninsula its name. Beginning at

Kom Peak Kom Peak ( bg, Ком ) or Golyam Kom (Голям Ком, "Big Kom") is a peak in the western Balkan Mountains, located in western Bulgaria, not far from the Serbian border. The peak is 2,016 metres high and lies south of the town of Berkovitsa, ...

() in the west near the border with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, Kom–Emine continues east for some until it reaches the

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (), also known as the Bulgarian Riviera, covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coast ...

Cape Emine Cape Emine ( bg, Нос Емине ) is a headland located at the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located south of Varna, north of Burgas and south of Obzor. It forms the tip of Stara Planina. Cape Emine is said to be Bulgaria's stormiest ...

. Due to its length and altitude, Kom–Emine counts among Europe's longest uninterrupted high-mountain trails; it is Bulgaria's longest, oldest and most famous hiking trail. Kom–Emine forms part of the wider

E3 European long distance path The E3 European long distance path, or just E3 path, is a long-distance footpath that is planned to run from the Portuguese coast to the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is one of the network of European long-distance paths. Route The completed sectio ...

. The trail's average elevation is . The middle section, Kom–Emine's highest, coincides with the

Central Balkan National Park The Central Balkan National Park ( bg, Национален парк Централен Балкан) lies in the heart of Bulgaria, nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Mountains. Its altitude varies from 550 m. near the town ...

and regularly rises above . The highest point of the trail is

Botev Peak Botev Peak ( bg, (връх) Ботев ) is, at above sea level, the highest peak of the Balkan Mountains. It is located close to the geographic centre of Bulgaria, and is part of the Central Balkan National Park. Until 1950, when it was rename ...

(), which is also the highest summit of the Balkan Mountains. In total, around 100 individual peaks are either summited or circumvented. Typically, the Kom–Emine hike takes 20 to 25 days to complete. The route is marked by white-red-white paint markings and around 30 mountain huts provide accommodation to hikers. Summer is the preferred season to walk Kom–Emine, though the lowest, eastern parts of the trail can get uncomfortably hot. The trail was first successfully traversed in 1933 by the hiking pioneer Pavel Deliradev, though a route along the entire Balkan Mountains had already been conceived by writer

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 was unable to embark on the hike before his assassination. The first mass through-hike was done in 1953 and the first winter crossing on ski followed in 1961. Bulgarian extreme runner Bozhidar Antonov holds the record for the fastest crossing of Kom–Emine. In August 2018, he completed the route in 4 days, 8 hours 37 minutes .

Gallery

References

External links

Kom–Emine route map
at OpenStreetMap {{DEFAULTSORT:Kom-Emine Balkan mountains European long-distance paths Hiking trails in Bulgaria 1930s establishments in Bulgaria