Snow-white mountain peaks and lush green meadows! Even a single thought about being in the shadow of cliffs, inhaling clear air filled with aromas of herbs, listening to the babbling of mountain streams and chirping of songbirds in the middle of hot summer makes you feel so nice to the point that you start to mentally pack your backpack. Only there aren’t so many natural places that are beautiful and safe, and at the same time aren’t crowded, because one wants to spend time in solitude, enjoy the calm and quiet away from noisy tourists and lively touristy cities. Sometimes one prefers a tent with a couple of good friends at a campsite. In that case, where would one go? Where to find this wonderful place?

And, with hundreds of flicked-through brochures and dozens of researched travel websites, you stumble upon the close and almost familiar Balkanian beauty, Bulgaria. There, in the vastness of the peninsula, in the west of this wonderful country, there is the magical and incredibly beautiful Golo Brdo mountain. It’s part of a ridge between two basins, and it keeps a lot of secrets. That’s where the bravest travellers can find the silence of wild nature disrupted only by wind and running waters of mountain brooks and rivers. Golo Brdo is 20 kilometres of gorgeous mountain landscapes of one of the oldest nature reserves in Bulgaria.

The nature reserve called Ostritsa is situated on one of the mountain slopes. For a long time now, it has been protected by the State. There are no crowds of tourists or designated routes, there’s only fresh air, clear translucent water, herb and plant aromas, chirping of birds and buzzing of bees. All sounds, smells, sights fill you with health and energy like childhood memories. Just a few kilometres away, there is Pernik, a town with all the benefits of civilisation, tourist attractions, museums and galleries, hotels and restaurants.