The Foal And Marble Ridge hike

Before you begin this satisfying, yet challenging Foal and Marble Ridge hike, do know that it’s a one-way route, so you’ll need to either book a reservation at Yavorov hut, where the trek ends, or arrange transportation to the Pirin golf resort, situated near Bansko. If you have energy, you can also walk an additional two hours to the golf resort.

The route starts its first stage north from Banderitsa hut, following white-green-white markings on trees and rocks. In the beginning, the path ascends to 40 degrees through some old pine forests, some junipers and pine bushes. After half an hour, the trail reaches the Little Cauldron–a lake-less cirque, surrounded by ridges, and located at 7054ft above the sea.

From here, you can easily spot the trail. It climbs towards the Big Cauldron. The last 5 minutes of this ascent is quite steep (up to 45 degrees), yet safe. The terrain also becomes rockier. Eventually, you’ll reach the Big Cauldron, which sits at 8005ft above the sea. Admire the large lake-less cirque dominated by the overwhelming north face of Mount Vihren. Here the terrain becomes rocky, but it isn’t too steep. At the entrance of the Big Cauldron, the path joins the white-red-white marked trail and you’ll follow these markings for the remaining duration of the trek.

The path goes across the Big Cauldron and starts turning right (northwest) to go around the massive face of Vihren. It starts climbing a very rocky and quite steep section. Eventually, the angle heightens to 50 degrees. Be careful during this part!

After you finish this challenging section, the trail snakes through a grassy slope, which leads straight to Premkata (the saddle), which sits between Mount Vihren and the Marble ridge. The altitude here is 8891ft above the sea. It may take around 2.5 hours to reach this point.

During the second stage, the trail advances through the most exposed part of the Marble ridge. It starts with a climb north, towards Mount Kutelo (9541ft above sea level). It is not steeper than 35 degrees, and the terrain is very stony and broken. The trail does not climb to the summit, but 200ft below the peak, it turns left (northwest) and starts slicing across the slope.

Do note that in winter one must go through the summit!

Soon after the slope steepens, exercise caution along this part—try to avoid slipping and falling to the left.

At the end of this section, there is a short (80ft) climb on pure rock with a 45-degree angle. You’ll need to use the fixed metal rope during this ascent. This saddle is the pinnacle of the whole hike; it is the famous “Foal”—a 700ft long col, which, at its widest, stretches to around 40 cm. Thankfully, the rope makes this part a little safer than it once was. It’s called the “Foal” because people found it to be less scary to ride a horse than walk this part. Use the fixed metal rope to descend the 1500ft vertical drop. Once on the northwestern side of the Foal, the path continues cutting through the slope of the Marble ridge and falls to a deep saddle before climbing close to the next summit—Bayuvi Dupki (9252ft above the sea).

If you’re trekking this part in winter, you need to go through all of the summits and not cut through the slopes.

After Bayuvi Dupki, the ridge becomes a bit lower and, after another descent, it reaches a tiny little shelter. The “Foal” shelter sits at 9055ft above sea level and is the most popular shelter in Bulgaria. It usually takes around 4.5 hours to reach this point for the trailhead.

From here the trail enters the third stage, it dips further into Marble ridge and towards the northwest. The next summit, Kamenititsa, stands tall at 8944ft above the sea, and after it, the ridge widens. The last summit, which sits significantly lower than the previous ones, is Razlojki Suhodol (8662ft above the sea). Straight after this summit, the ridge descends a bit more until it reaches a saddle before the next peak. You can spot a large Christian cross on top of the pinnacle on this saddle. This cross marks the northern end of the Marble ridge and the end of this stage. It may take around 5.5 hours to reach this point from the start.

The start of the fourth stage heads straight to the north, where a beautiful valley opens up. You’ll head down into the valley. The first hour of the descent is quite mild. It traverses grassy terrain and isn’t super steep. Soon the path, which always follows the left (western) bank of the river, enters the century-old pine forest. From here, you can marvel at the ridge known as “The Ladder.” Once you’re in the woods, the terrain elevates in difficulty. Watch out for the rocks and tree roots scattered along the path. The angle of steepness also increases to 30 degrees. The most challenging part of this section ends when the trail reaches an abandoned stone building, resembling an old shelter, on the left side. After these ruins, through a forest path, the route reaches the finishing point–Yavorov hut, which sits at 5709ft above sea level.