ST509 Belitsa (Bear Park) - Yakoruda

From the Belitsa Bear Sanctuary, the trail rises gently into the lower hills of Rila National Park, following forest paths that wind through a series of gentle saddles and wooded spurs. As the route progresses, the landscape gradually opens, revealing long views toward the broad Mesta Valley, whose wide agricultural basin lies framed between the Rila and Rhodope mountains. Descending toward the valley floor, the trail passes the Yakoruda Bath—a still‑operating regional bathhouse fed by mineral springs—before continuing into Yakoruda, a lively small town marking the transition from the alpine interior of Rila to the river‑nourished lowlands of southwestern Bulgaria.