Windy November on Vitosha

November on Vitosha usually means cold, fog and the first snow. On 12 November 2026 it was something else entirely. 🌬️

A warm front swept over Bulgaria, and for a couple of days temperatures jumped far above normal for the season. It brought wind with it, a lot of wind, especially higher up the mountain, with very strong gusts. I spent the day in the forests of the Dendrarium and later went up to Kopitoto, right into the heart of it.

🌳 The Dendrarium

The Dendrarium lies on the forest road that climbs from Knyazhevo towards Zlatni Mostove, at roughly 1,100–1,300 m on Vitosha's northern slopes. A dendrarium is a living collection of trees, and here the forest closes in around the road, with tall conifers and broadleaf trees on both sides. 🌲

It is a popular spot for walkers, runners and cyclists climbing up from the city, and a natural starting point for trails towards Zlatni Mostove and Kopitoto.

All of it lies inside Vitosha Nature Park, declared in 1934 as the first nature park in the Balkans and today covering the whole mountain.

⛰️ Kopitoto

Kopitoto, "the Hoof", is the hoof-shaped rock outcrop at about 1,345 m that looks straight down over western Sofia. On top stands the Vitosha TV Tower, a 186 m reinforced-concrete tower built in 1985 and the second tallest TV tower in Bulgaria. 📡 Visible from almost everywhere in the city, it is one of the landmarks of Sofia's skyline.

The old chairlift that once carried visitors up stopped running in 1992 and was later abandoned. Today Kopitoto is reached on foot or by bike, from Knyazhevo, Boyana, Byalata Voda or Zlatni Mostove. The reward is one of the best views of Sofia from Vitosha.

💨 A warm wind in November

Deep in the Dendrarium, the forest broke the worst of the wind. We found a small, hidden lake in a clearing ringed by white birches, spruces and bare oaks. 🌲 Its dark water was scattered with fallen leaves, yellow birch and slim silver-green willow, while the bare branches above it mirrored themselves upside down on the surface.

On the far bank sat a large boulder, crusted with pale lichen and a cap of green moss, its reflection almost perfect in the still water. Closer to the edge, a white birch log lay half-submerged among the floating leaves and reeds, with the trees and sky reflected all around it. 🍂 Up in the canopy the wind kept roaring, but down here, in the shelter of the forest, the little lake stayed almost calm. With the camera on a tripod, I could take my time over every frame. 📷

Kopitoto was a different story. We reached the top as the day turned into blue hour, and up there, with nothing between us and the wind, it hit with full force: strong, steady wind and solid gusts across the open terrace below the TV tower. 💨

The tower rose above us with its rings of antennas and dishes, while low clouds hung over the valley. Below, Sofia slowly lit up: thousands of lights spreading across the whole city, the main boulevards drawn in streams of red and white traffic, and the dark plain fading into the distance. 🌃 Keeping the tripod steady in the gusts became part of the challenge, but the view was worth every shaky frame.

What stays with me most is the sound. The blazing wind swept through the trees all around us, and the Kopitoto TV tower itself sang. Its steel, antennas and cables hummed and whistled in the gusts, a wind song I had only heard before in strong winds at sea. 🎶

📸 Photos

The hidden lake of the Dendrarium and the blue-hour views of Sofia from Kopitoto are in the gallery below.

If you go: take tram 5 to the end of the line in Knyazhevo and walk up through the forest. The climb to Kopitoto takes about 2–2.5 hours with roughly 700 m of ascent. On windy days, be careful on the exposed rocks at the top.

Sources: Vitosha Mountain TV Tower – Wikipedia · Vitosha – Wikipedia · Bulguides – Kopitoto · BikeClimbs – Dendrarium road