Visiting Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this trip myself. All recommendations and opinions are my own.

We visited Rila Monastery on our 11 day self-drive holiday around Bulgaria. We had been staying in the Rila Mountains where we hiked the 7 Rila Lakes trail and were now on our way down visit Melnik, the smallest town in Bulgaria. On our way, we planned to stop off at Rila Monastery. The monastery is the largest Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria monastery, and is a popular attraction, particularly as it is in easy driving distance from Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital.

How to Get to Rila Monastery

By Car

We drove to Rila Monastery in a hire car. The road up to the monastery was surprisingly good, well sealed and wide with some pull over bays along the way. Do watch out for rock falls on the road which you might come across whilst driving up.

It takes about 1.5 – 2 hours to drive to the monastery from Sofia and 1.5 hours to drive from Panichiste in the Rila Mountains. However, we took longer as we ended up having problems with our hire car (don’t go for the cheapest hire company in Bulgaria as they run very old cars!). It clearly had not been serviced in a long time as the oil ran out, so we had to refill it (they did at least reimburse us for it) and the discovered that one of the (bald) tyres was flat, so we had to find another gas station that had air. Thankfully it was a slow leak.

The car park is at the front of the monastery entrance. There is not a lot of parking to be had during the busy summer, but there is a person who manages the parking and they tend to direct you to vacant parks. There is not parking machine, the attendant will come and collect the parking fee (which is small). As visitors don’t tend to visit for long, the car park has good turnover. There is another car park behind the monastery which you can get to if you drive past the monastery. However, I wouldn’t recommend it as it is steep and uneven.

By Tour

If you prefer to take a tour, then there are a number of day tours from Sofia to choose from.

By Bus

There is only one public bus that goes from Sofia directly to Rila monastery – Rila Express. It departs from Sofia Ovcha Kupel bus station, which is located in the west part of Sofia city, at 10:20hrs. It arrives at Rila monastery at 13:00hrs and you get to spend 2 hours exploring (which I think is more than enough time to explore) before the bus departs at 15:00hrs. You get back into Sofia at 17:20hrs.

Taxi

The most expensive option would be to hire a taxi for the day. If there are a number of you then dividing this cost out amongst you will make this option more affordable.

What to Wear When Visiting the Rila Monastery

They have strict clothing rules at the monastery, your bottoms need to cover your knees, and your top needs to be modest and cover your shoulders. They do have a security person policing this policy at both entrances. Some monasteries have a basket with wraps that you can borrow, but they did not have that here when we visited. However, we did see that some tours had provided their visitors with saris to wrap around their shoulders or waist for modesty.

How Much Does it Cost to Visit Rila Monastery?

It is free to visit and enter Rila Monastery, but donations are welcome. You can also contribute by purchasing something from their gift store and visiting their museum which does have a small entry fee. If you drive, you will need to pay for parking.

Where to Eat at Rila Monastery

There are several restaurants at the back of the monastery and a small hole in the wall bakery selling fried bread.

Toilets at Rila Monastery

There are toilets on your left as you enter the courtyard. The signs that lead you up a flight of stairs. A word of warning – they do smell very bad. However, they were clean. The toilets are squat ones and there was no toilet paper when I visited, but thankfully I always travel with [amazon_textlink asin=’B00706W9EC’ text=’small packets of travel tissues’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’howbeautifullifeis-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’24f4e3be-9044-446e-ae42-3b6e8e7fbd8f’].

Visiting Rila Monastery

We were relieved to finally get to the monastery after having issues with out hire car. The turn off from the E79 was well signposted and we continued along the 107 which takes you through the town of Rila which was much larger than I had expected. The road was a bit rough in places with pot holes, but the road that took us up to the monastery was better than I expected. However, look out for rock fall on the road.

The car park was busy when we arrived as this is a very popular attraction, but the attendant pointed out the available parks. There is not a lot of room to manoeuvre, but we live in the UK so are used to that. The attendant came and collected the parking fee and gave us a ticket to display on the dashboard. When we went to enter the monastery, we realised that our shorts were not long enough, so we had to come back to the car to dig out some trousers.

The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 – 946 AD) who lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery’s location. Founded in the 10th century, the monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times over the years. Apparently very little historical records remain about the monastery. Upon entering the large courtyard, we were presented with the picturesque scene of the beautiful monastery with the dramatic mountains as a backdrop. This is the perfect spot for a photo before heading in to see the monastery.  Please be aware that you can take photos outside, but you can’t take them inside the monastery.

Both the inside and outside of the monastery were covered in colourful frescoes. Inside the church was decor heavy in elaborate gold filigree and candelabras. There was so much to see, we just wandered around in awe with our mouths open. As well as the church, there is the historic Hrelja Tower which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tower was named after a commander of a Serbian military detachment in the 1320’s during the Byzantine civil war. Hrelja reconstructed the church and then also built the defensive tower to protect the monks. It is the oldest surviving structure at the site. In 1844 a bell tower was added to it.

There is also a museum here (small entry fee) that features religious icons and framed pictures of the monks that have lived here. There is also an ethnographic museum which has a collection of traditional rugs, jewellery and outfits on display.

After exploring the monastery, we went through the back exit where we found several restaurants. We had brought a picnic lunch with us, so we found a quiet spot to enjoy our lunch and admire the surrounding mountains. Beside the restaurants was a stand selling freshly fried donut balls which we had smothered in nutella (a favourite in Europe). They were really delicious.

In the afternoon we drove on to our next stop on our self-drive holiday was Melnik, Bulgaria’s wine region and smallest town. Click here to join me on my next post where I explore Melnik.

Accommodation Options near Rila Monastery

Spend the Night at the Monastery

You can actually stay the night at the monastery. There are dormitories and private rooms available, but be aware that the accommodation is basic. Bookings can only be done by telephone, details here.

Budget

• Hotel Tsarev Peak – is owned by the Rila Monastery and also has a restaurant.

Moderate

• Hotel Pchelina – nestled in the forest.
• Family Hotel Forest Grove – features a restaurant with a summer terrace just above the river.

Luxury

• Rilets Resort & Spa – Features a restaurant, pool and spa.

Practical Tips for Visiting the Rila Monastery

• How long should I visit the Rila Monastery for? It is not a large site, so you can get away with only spending an hour here. However, if you want to explore more of the countryside and/or eat, then you may want to schedule in more time.
• How to get to the Rila Monastery:
  • By Car: It takes about 1.5 – 2 hours to drive to the monastery from Sofia and 1.5 hours to drive from Panichiste, Rila Mountains. The car park is in front of the monastery entrance and there is an attendant that collects the parking fee.
  • By Tour: If you would prefer to take a tour, then there are many day tours from Sofia to choose from.
  • By Bus: There is only one public bus that goes from Sofia directly to Rila monastery – the Rila Express. It departs from Sofia Ovcha Kupel bus station, which is located in the west part of Sofia city. It leaves at 10:20hrs and arrives at Rila monastery at 13:00hrs. You get to spend 2 hours exploring (which I think is more than enough time) before the bus departs at 15:00hrs. You get back into Sofia at 17:20hrs.
  • Taxi: The most expensive option would be to hire a taxi for the day. If there are several of you then dividing this cost amongst you will make this option more affordable.
  • See a more detailed guide on how to get to the monastery on their website.
• Language: Bulgarian. It can be difficult to understand signs when they are in Bulgarian, as it looks nothing like the English version. Many of the areas we visited in Bulgaria only limited people spoke English, so we tried to make an effort with some Bulgarian. I encourage you to try a little Bulgarian too. Fun fact – Bulgarians nod when they say no and shake their head when they mean yes.
  • Yes = да (da)
  • No = не (ne)
  • Please = моля (molya)
  • Thank you = благодаря (blagodarya)
  • Hello = добър ден (dobar den)
  • Where is the toilet? къде в тоалетната (kade e toaletnata)
• Currency: Bulgarian Lev, or Leva, which is the plural. Most places had card machines and there were plenty of ATM’s. However, you will need small change for the buses.

• Electricity: The electrical current is 220-240 volts, 50-60 Hz. Wall outlets take the European two round prong plugs. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in Bulgaria as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
• Driving: In Bulgaria they drive on the right hand side of the road with speed signs in kilometres per hour (km). The speed limits are 50 km (31 mph) within towns; 90 km (56 mph) outside towns; 120 km (75 mph) on expressways; and a rather scary 140 km (87 mph) on motorways. Some of the roads we drove on were very old with huge pot holes and the paint had long since faded, so we had to drive slower in these areas.
• Navigating: We used Google’s free Offline Maps. Google Offline Maps allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow this detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps. Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices. If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a Bulgarian road map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!