Rila Monastery Nature Park

This was announced by the Minister of Ecology Emil Dimitrov, who was present at the first dig of a building for half a million BGN on the territory of Rila National Park, which will be a base of rescuers and an information center. Control over whether jeeps continue to drive in the mountains will be carried out by the employees of Rila Park, as well as from RIEW-Sofia.

Two new protected areas in Rila will be established after the government has decided to do so.

The zones are located on the periphery of Rila National Park. The Rila Buffer Protected Area is about 380 km2 under the Birds Directive and the Low Rila Protected Zone is about 370 km2 and is under the Habitats Directive. The two areas overlap as territory.

For a ninth consecutive year piligrims will walk the distance from Sofia to the Rila Monastery. Worshippers travel through some of the route that the relics of Saint Ivan Rilski were transferred from Veliko Tarnovo to the Holy Monastery in 1469.

Dozens of tourists chose to spend the night in Rila Monastery for the upcoming celebration of the feast day of the Assumption of Mary, which Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates on 15th of August, reported the Bulgarian National Television. 

Many people have decided to spend the night in tents close to the monastery and attend the morning liturgy to pray for health.