Kozya Stena Hut – Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria Balkan Mountains

It was late afternoon of Sunday 10th of May 2015 when I finally arrived Kozya Stena hut (Хижа Козя стена), after a long way up from the village of Rosino in Bulgaria’s Rose Valley. About a 1,000 meters of vertical climb and a weather turning bad – rain showers, low clouds and a frightening fog.

The hut was a great surprise, as I immediately had a warm welcome from one of the hut keepers – Rado. After the bustling weekend, I was the only visitor, and
with the weather taking a turn for the worse, the big hut building looked gloomy.

But I was invited to the kitchen where I met the other hut keeper, Tanya, feeling bad for the mess around following the weekend.

During the next day the rain did not stop and visibility was reduced to 5 meters.

But at that time, Kozya Stena hut with Tanya and Rado in charge, was the best place to “get stuck” in the Bulgarian Balkan (“Stara Planina”) mountains.

And so I could hear the story of Kozya Stena hut, and learn about the “back scenes” challenges of maintaining such an isolated hut, located on the ridge 1,560 meters above sea level.

Many years ago during communist times it served as a mountain hotel, capable of serving 100 guests at a time. The staff had 10 members, including a receptionist and three kitchen workers. Supplies were brought by helicopters and a huge generator provided electricity for lighting and heating.

But these days are over. The hut is owned by the tourism association, but is it maintained by contractors. Currently only three enthusiastic young fellows are in charge of everything – Tanya and Rado whom I met, and Ivan, who went down to the valley for some errands.

Without helicopters, supplies are brought on their own backs or on a horse, a 1-2 hours journey uphill from the nearest accessible jeep path. Everything should be carried – from gas cylinders, through food ingredients, beer and drinking bottles.

They must have good hands as they should take care of maintenance issues of the aging building.

Electricity is available by a small generator they brought on their back. To save petrol (which should also be carried) they turn it on only in the evening, mainly for lighting and communications.

Heating is a huge problem, as no electricity can support it, thus, it is done by burning wood from trees they are allowed to chop from the nearby forest. That’s an environmental issue that has its service aspects as well – they are limited by the amount of wood they are allowed to chop, but hut guests demand their heating in cold days, unaware of the current limited resources.
During my stay the room was quite warm even without heating, but the winter is a whole different story – the hut is open year-round!

In other parts of the national park, the last severe winter caused numerous pine trees to collapse in the vicinity of Dobrila hut (which is connected by a dirt road and has permanent electricity supply), but park authorities lack the management ability to allow transportation of the available fallen trees to Kozya Stena area.

Laundry is done by hand, a time consuming task, but with no compromises – each item gets its personal touch…

When I visited the hut I could enjoy the full attention of Rado and Tanya.

I enjoyed Rado’s delicious food – he’s a professional cook, who worked in Spain and Italy.

Tanya is an experienced tour planner and leader, fluent in several languages. Learning with her about the place and about Bulgaria in general is a delight.

Now imagine these three guys having to serve a hundred people who stay at the hut during a peak season night, and more than that number a day during a sunny weekend. As they say – they must be a bit crazy, crazy in the good way, to do it.

Their enthusiasm to do it brought them to initiate a campaign to raise some funds to improve the hut facilities, starting with a solar electricity system for lighting. Under the title “професия хижар” – “hut keeper profession” – they organize unique events – such as a culinary event and a mountain race – to enhance the awareness to what it takes to run such a place.

Even for the modest donation I gave, I was awarded with the campaign shirt and a certificate, thus, officially, became a part of the effort.

That’s entrepreneurship, which is great to see in a place like Bulgaria not just in money-driven businesses in the capital, but in a remote mountain hut, where the capital is love for nature and people.

Two days after I arrived the weather improved, and with Tanya and Rado’s bless, while Rado walks with me for a while, I continued the hike charged with electrifying energy.

For information about the hut activities and campaign visit the hut Facebook page.

Also, take a look at the wonderful documentary made about the hut: