Vitosha Mountain from Sofia: how to get there and what to do
Vitosha is Sofia's own mountain, and you can reach it without a car: metro to the last stop, then bus 66, every day but far more often at weekends. Which bus and when, what the lifts are doing in mid-November 2026, which walk fits your legs, and how to get back.
By Miles Prescott (the name our editorial team writes under), November 2026
Yes, you can reach Vitosha without a car, but weekdays are the catch. Metro line M2 ends at Vitosha station. Bus 66 stops there on its way from Sofia Zoo up to the Aleko area, just below Cherni Vrah (about 2,290 m). The operator's timetable, read on 13 November 2026, runs it every day. Weekdays get 8 buses up, weekends and holidays 18.
Do this first: take M2 to Vitosha station and catch bus 66 at the stop the operator calls Vitosha metro station. Free Sofia Tour puts it opposite Paradise Mall. Weekday departures up from there: 08:34, 09:34, 10:34, 11:54, 13:34, 14:49, 15:49 and 16:49. At weekends and on holidays they run from 08:04 to 17:09, roughly every half hour. A ride is €0.80 on a tapped bank card, per our transport guide. Timetables change with the season, so check the operator's page the day before.
One thing to know: in mid-November 2026 the mountain is between seasons. On 13 November the operator's lift page marked all 12 lifts closed, so until the winter season opens you walk.
Lifts right now: closed, with dates
The summer lifts are shut and the winter ones have not opened yet. The operator, Vitosha Ski, listed 12 lifts, marked every one closed and showed "0 / 12" on a page last updated 20 October 2026. I read it on 13 November 2026.
- Simeonovo cabin lift (the long gondola up to Aleko): the operator's home page says "Кабинков лифт „Симеоново“ не работи", which means it is not operating.
- Vitoshko Lale 1 and 2 (listed as Laleto 1 and 2): the same page says they went into maintenance from 28 September and will not run until the winter season. The page shows no year for that notice.
- Winter season: the operator expects it "in mid-December or earlier, depending on weather". No exact date is given.
- Summer pattern (for next year): the two Lale lifts ran on Saturdays and Sundays, 09:00 to 16:30, weather permitting. The summer 2026 price list had an adult one-way ticket at €3.50 and return at €6.50. It states that only euro is accepted since 1 January 2026.
I found no hours or prices for the Simeonovo cabin lift on the pages I could read. If a lift is part of your plan, check the status column on the operator's lift page the morning you go. The operator says the Lale lifts run only in suitable weather, and lifts go into maintenance between seasons.
Pick your Vitosha by legs and season
| You want | Route | Time on foot | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| A view, no real walk | Bus 66 to the Aleko area, short stroll | minutes | Only 8 buses up on a weekday; last bus down 18:00, see the way-back section |
| A gentle forest walk | Tram 5 to Knyazhevo, walk to the Golden Bridges | about 2 hours (Free Sofia Tour) | Boulder field, not a summit |
| The summit | Bus 66 to Aleko, then walk up Cherni Vrah | about 2 hours up, 450 m climb (Bulguides) | Weather turns faster than the city; round trip is longer than the climb |
| A lazy day | Lift up, ride down (summer weekends or winter) | none | Lifts closed now, see above |
Scroll the table sideways for all columns.
My pick for a first November visit is the Golden Bridges: a forest and a boulder field are fine in grey weather, and a missed bus costs you less. Take the Aleko walk only on a clear day in decent shoes. Is Vitosha worth a day? If you have already seen the centre, yes, because it is the one place where the city ends in a real mountain. Skip Cherni Vrah in low cloud or fresh snow. The top will still be there in spring.
Getting there without a car
Metro to the foot of the mountain. Line M2 ends at Vitosha station. Free Sofia Tour says that after you leave the metro you can catch bus 66 and other Vitosha buses at the stop opposite Paradise Mall. Hikevent (24 November 2025) says bus 66 departs from Paradise Mall. Bulguides describes the route as Sofia Zoo to Aleko Hut. The operator's timetable shows that all three are right. Bus 66 starts at Sofia Zoo, calls at two stops named Vitosha metro station, then climbs through Dragalevtsi to Aleko Hut. That takes about 40 minutes from the metro. Our public transport guide covers tickets: a ride is €0.80 and you tap a bank card at the gate. Our where to stay guide puts Vitosha station about 4.4 km in a straight line from Serdika.
City buses and tram. Free Sofia Tour's guide (updated June 2025) lists these. I checked the Golden Bridges lines against the operator's timetable.
| Line | Goes to | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Bus 66 | Aleko area, the highest point public transport reaches | Cherni Vrah, viewpoint |
| Bus 61 or 63 | Golden Bridges. 61 leaves from the Cherni Vrah Blvd. stop (Free Sofia Tour: "under Lover's Bridge"), 63 from Tsar Boris III Blvd. Both run every day, more often at weekends | Golden Bridges walks |
| Bus 64 | Boyana Church | Boyana walks |
| Bus 68 | Dragalevtsi and Simeonovo | Simeonovo cabin lift, when open |
| Bus 98 | Zheleznitsa village, other side of the mountain | Less popular trails (Free Sofia Tour) |
| Tram 5 | Knyazhevo, then about 2 hours on foot to Golden Bridges | Forest walk |
The same guide gives a fare of €0.80 for these buses, tapped once on boarding. That matches the €0.80 single fare in our transport guide. The guides disagree on the Golden Bridges line, so I read the operator's timetable on 13 November 2026. Both 61 and 63 end at the Golden Bridges, on weekdays too. On a weekday, 61 leaves the city 7 times and 63 about once an hour. Free Sofia Tour's "every 10 minutes" did not match, and I found no line 163. Check your line under Timetables before you set out.
Taxi. A cab to the foot of the mountain is the fallback when the bus does not suit you. I found no official fare for the Aleko road, so I will not quote one. Ask the driver for a price before you get in. Our airport guide has the city taxi rates, but they model an airport run, not a mountain road.
The way back: what is and is not known
Plan the return before you leave the city. This is the part guides skip.
- Last bus down. On the operator's timetable read on 13 November 2026, the last bus 66 leaves Aleko Hut at 18:00, on weekdays and at weekends. Weekday departures down are 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:40, 14:45, 15:50, 17:10 and 18:00. At weekends and on holidays they run from 08:50, roughly every half hour.
- Old advice says weekends only. Bulguides and reader comments from 2013 and 2019 on Free Sofia Tour say bus 66 runs only at weekends. The current timetable has weekday buses too, just fewer.
- Winter weekend roads. A March 2026 municipal order closes the roads from Dragalevtsi to Aleko Hut and from Boyana to Ofeliite to private vehicles. The ban applies on weekends and holidays, 11:00 to 16:00, from 1 December to 31 March. City buses and hired taxis are exempt. Police may also close the mountain roads at any time of year in bad weather.
- Snow and wind. On 4 January 2026 the municipality closed both main roads, towards Aleko and Zlatnite Mostove, and BTA reported extra afternoon buses from Aleko (line 66 at 16:00, 16:30 and 17:00). That was one winter day, not a standing timetable. Wind can also stop the buses: on 13 November 2026 the operator's route-change list showed lines 61 and 66 suspended on 14 and 15 November because of strong gusts. Look at the route changes list on its timetable page before you go.
- Lifts do not save you. Hikevent says the lower lift station had only a large car park, the nearest bus stop was 2 km away, and the authors then walked 5 km on asphalt. Do not count on riding a lift down to a bus.
- Your rule: take a photo of the timetable at the stop where you get off, note the last departure, and be there with half an hour to spare. If you miss it, a taxi from the Aleko area is your plan B. Price it before you go.
Start early. Winter dusk and a missed last bus are a bad pair.
Safety: fog, snow and who to call
Carry on only while you can see the next waymark. If you cannot, go back to the last one you remember. That is the main rule in Bulguides' safety guide, and low visibility is when it matters. The same guide says that on some routes the waymarks are not in good condition and take time and effort to follow. It adds that snow can stay on summer trails in the highest parts. It says proper equipment, knowledge and judgement are essential between December and April. That is general Bulgarian advice, not a Vitosha snow report.
For the mountain itself, read the Mountain Rescue Service's daily Vitosha bulletin the day before. It gives the weather at Aleko and any avalanche notice.
If something goes wrong, call 112 and ask for the Mountain Rescue Service. Its old short number 1470 closed on 26 August 2026, so older guides that still list it are out of date. The service's 24-hour post in Sofia also answers on 02 963 2000 and 0887 100 237. Its free app can send your coordinates to that post. Once rescuers know about you, stay where you are and keep your phone on.
What Vitosha is, in a few facts
According to Wikipedia, an initial 66 km² of Vitosha was declared a nature park in 1934 (the park now covers the whole mountain). Its highest point, Cherni Vrah, is given as 2,290 m in the text and 2,292 m in the infobox of the same Wikipedia page, so use "about 2,290 m". The cable car reaches Aleko at 1,810 m. Wikipedia names the easiest summit route as the cable car to Aleko, a chair lift to Malak Rezen (2,191 m), then an easy footpath to Cherni Vrah. While the lifts are closed, you do that stretch on foot.
Skip this
Skip the summit on a day with low cloud and no daylight margin. Skip the lifts until the operator's page shows them open. On 13 November 2026 all 12 were closed. Skip planning Vitosha as an hour between two city sights. It takes its own day, as our things to do in Sofia plan says. If you are choosing between day trips, Rila Monastery from Sofia is the longer, more fixed option, with a private shuttle or a tour instead of a city bus.