Bistritsa or Vitoshka Bistritsa ( bg, Бистрица; Витошка Бистрица; Бистришка река), is a river in western
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 ...
, tributary of
Iskar River
The Iskar ( bg, Искър, ; la, Oescus) is a right tributary of the Danube. With a length of 368 km it is the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgaria.Golyam Rezen Peak 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 ...
, crossing
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, where it forms a small but beautiful waterfall, known as Samokovishteto, then crossing the villages of Bistritsa and
Pancharevo
Pancharevo ( bg, Панчарево, , also transcribed as Pančarevo) is a resort village and district located on the outskirts of Sofia close to Vitosha, Lozenska and Plana mountains and occupies the southeastern part of the Capital Municipa ...
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
. Additional charm of the area offer several
artificial waterfall
An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall.
Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic ...