Aleko () is a site on

Vitosha Mountain Vitosha ( ), 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. Convenient bus lines and ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

situated at the northern foothills of Malak Rezen Peak (2191 m), in the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of Yanchevska River draining eastwards towards the village of

Bistritsa, Sofia Bistritsa () is a large village in the Pancharevo district of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, located at 15 km to the south of the city center. it has 5,315 inhabitants. Geography The village is situated at an altitude of 950 m on the ...

. Aleko is the principal

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

and winter sports 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 refr ...

, 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. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

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

s and ski runs, cafeterias and restaurants, and

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

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 FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

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 Am ...

s together with

Bansko Bansko ( ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Blagoevgrad Oblast near the city of Razlog. Once mainly a stockbreeding and travelling merchant community, the town is now an international centre for winter and summer tourism. More rec ...

in Pirin Mountain,

Borovets Borovets ( , known as Chamkoria ( ) until the middle of the 20th century) is a mountain resort in Samokov Municipality in Sofia Province in Bulgaria. Geography Borovets is situated on the northern slopes of Rila mountain, at an elevation of ...

in Rila Mountain, and Pamporovo in

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) 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 Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

. 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 suppo ...

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

Dragalevtsi Dragalevtsi ( ) 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 luxurious one-family country ...

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

Cherni Vrah Cherni Vrah ( , "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 m, Pirin Mountain) ...

and further south to the villages of Chuypetlovo and

Yarlovo Yarlovo () is a village in Samokov municipality of Sofia Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It is located 24 kilometers from the capital Sofia. It is situated in Samokov Valley on the west slopes of the Vitosha mountain massif; the altitude exce ...

, to

Bistrishko Branishte Bistrishko Branishte () 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 reserve under the ''Man and the Biospher ...

Nature Reserve to the east, and to Zlatnite Mostove to the northwest. A monument on the nearby Mecha Polyana (‘Bear Meadow’) commemorates Bulgaria's foreign minister Ivan Bashev who died in December 1971 in a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, 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 th ...

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 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-su ...

built in 1924 (second in Bulgaria after Skakavitsa Chalet in Rila Mountain), and named for the

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Aleko Konstantinov Aleko Konstantinov () (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 fiction. Life and career Born to an ...

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