Aleko hut (Vitosha Mountain)

Aleko hut (Bulgarian: хижа Алеко) is a mountain chalet and tourist complex on Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria, situated at 1,840 metres above sea level south of Sofia, at the northern foothills of Malak Rezen Peak and below Cherni Vrah (2,290 m). It is the second-oldest chalet in Bulgaria, originally built between 1924 and 1932 with the labour and funds of tourist and skier enthusiasts who followed Aleko Konstantinov, the founder of Bulgaria's tourist movement. The chalet is owned by the Bulgarian Tourist Union (БТС) and has been managed since 2000 by the sports and tourism club Moten (Спортно-туристически клуб „Мотен“). It is listed as National Tourist Site No. 74 among the BТС's 100 National Tourist Sites. The current building is a massive three-storey structure with a granite ground and first floor. It offers 90 beds in rooms of 2, 3, 6 and 8 beds plus three apartments. The first floor houses a tourist dining room with about 150 seats and a buffet serving daily hot meals, soups, and hot and cold drinks. The chalet is open year-round and lies only 21 kilometres, or about 40 minutes by car, from central Sofia. A paved road leads from the Dragalevtsi quarter directly to the chalet, parking is free, and the last station of the Simeonovo–Shtastlivetsa gondola lift is about 50 metres away. Skiers can step directly from the chalet's ski storage onto the ski run. Aleko is the principal tourist and winter sports centre on Vitosha, offering accommodation at the chalet and a few hotels, several chairlifts, surface lifts and ski runs, cafeterias and restaurants, and ski and snowboard schools. The oldest and most popular ski run is Stenata ('The Wall'), while the longest and most difficult is Vitoshko Lale, originally built for the 1983 Winter Universiade held on Vitosha. Aleko is among Bulgaria's top ski resorts together with Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo. It is also the starting point for tourist tracks to Cherni Vrah and further south to Chuypetlovo and Yarlovo, to Bistrishko Branishte Nature Reserve, and to Zlatnite Mostove. The site is a major base of the Mountain Rescue Service network on Vitosha. Under Moten's management, the chalet operates as a mountain school and sports base, with ski and snowboard instruction on Vitosha, a climbing wall on the eastern side of the chalet, rope gardens, guided excursions across Bulgaria, summer camps in Rila, Pirin and the Rhodopes, green schools, and seasonal sports holidays. Moten Sport OOD holds tour operator licence No. RK-01-6848 and works with about 35 trained ski and snowboard instructors, mountain guides and animators.

Aleko hut takes its name from the writer Aleko Konstantinov, who organised the first group climbing of Cherni Vrah on 27 August 1895 and is regarded as the founder of Bulgaria's tourist movement. The chalet was originally built between 1924 and 1932 with the labour and funds of many tourist and skier enthusiasts, making it the second-oldest chalet in Bulgaria after Skakavitsa Chalet in Rila Mountain. In its original form it was constructed over the period 1924–1932. The site around the chalet developed into the principal tourist and winter sports centre on Vitosha Mountain, with accommodation at the chalet and a few hotels, several chairlifts, surface lifts and ski runs, cafeterias and restaurants, and ski and snowboard schools. The oldest and most popular ski run is Stenata ('The Wall'), while the longest and most difficult one is Vitoshko Lale, originally built for the 1983 Winter Universiade held on Vitosha. The chalet is owned by the Bulgarian Tourist Union (БТС) and has been managed since 2000 by the sports and tourism club Moten (Спортно-туристически клуб „Мотен“). It is listed as National Tourist Site No. 74 among the BТС's 100 National Tourist Sites. In its current form it is a massive three-storey building with a granite ground and first floor, offering 90 beds in rooms of 2, 3, 6 and 8 beds plus three apartments, a tourist dining room with about 150 seats and a buffet, a tea room, a covered panoramic terrace, two ski and snowboard storage rooms, and free Wi-Fi. The site is accessible by a 6.27 km gondola lift from Sofia's suburb of Simeonovo and by road from the suburb of Dragalevtsi. Aleko is also the starting point of a number of tourist tracks leading to Cherni Vrah and further south to the villages of Chuypetlovo and Yarlovo, to Bistrishko Branishte Nature Reserve to the east, and to Zlatnite Mostove to the northwest. A monument on the nearby Mecha Polyana ('Bear Meadow') commemorates Bulgaria's foreign minister Ivan Bashev, who died in December 1971 in a blizzard that swept the area. Aleko is a major base of the Mountain Rescue Service network on Vitosha Mountain.

• 2000

  Moten begins managing Aleko hut on behalf of the Bulgarian Tourist Union.

• 1999

  Sports and Tourism Club Moten (СТД „Мотен“) is founded.

• 1983

  The Vitoshko Lale ski run is originally built for the Winter Universiade held on Vitosha.

• 1971

  Bulgaria's foreign minister Ivan Bashev dies in December in a blizzard near Mecha Polyana; a monument commemorates him.

• 1932

  Aleko Chalet is completed in its original form.

• 1924

  Construction of Aleko Chalet begins; it is the second chalet in Bulgaria after Skakavitsa Chalet in Rila Mountain.

• 1895

  Aleko Konstantinov organises the first group climbing of Cherni Vrah on 27 August, founding Bulgaria's tourist movement.

Bulgaria's second-oldest mountain chalet and the principal year-round tourist and winter sports base on Vitosha Mountain, only 21 km from central Sofia.

• Aleko Chalet accommodation

  90 beds in rooms of 2, 3, 6 and 8 beds plus three apartments.

• Tourist dining room

  About 150 seats and a buffet serving daily hot meals, soups, and hot and cold drinks.

• Ski and snowboard school

  Instruction on Vitosha with about 35 trained ski and snowboard instructors, mountain guides and animators.

• Climbing wall

  Alpine climbing wall on the eastern side of Aleko hut.

• Rope gardens

  Rope gardens 'Moten'.

• Guided excursions and camps

  One-day excursions across Bulgaria, summer camps in Rila, Pirin and the Rhodopes, green schools, and seasonal sports holidays.

1. 1Motensport | хижа Алекоmotensport.com
2. 2Motensport | За насmotensport.com
3. 3Wikidata: Aleko hut (Vitosha Mountain)wikidata.org
4. 4Wikipedia: Aleko, Vitoshaen.wikipedia.org