If you ask someone in Varna where you could make a quick circle with your mountain bike near the city, the answear probably would be “next to the TV tower”. It is located on a plateau above the city, the slope is steep and facing south, which means that the trails dry quickly even after rain. Well, it also means that more and more houses and villas are appearing under the forest belt, but for now there are enough trails for local sports and nature lovers to ride mountain bikes, run, walk, walk dogs, etc.
Among the short routes on the slopes under the TV tower, this can be called the main and the most commonly used one. It is also the longest route because it goes to the TV tower itself, making a tour on the flat part of the plateau. However, the descent is not for people with weak nerves, because the path is narrow and with a steep (sometimes vertical) slope on the left side. If this worries you, you`d better take a look at the other two routes (Varna - TV Tower 2 (along the "Left" path) and Varna - TV Tower 3 (lighter version of the "Right" path). That is why the technical difficulty is indicated as high, although for advanced riders it is rather medium.
Starting point: The parking lot of St. Marina Hospital, https://goo.gl/maps/twCezj5Dgx86i8Bv5
Length: 6.3 km
Ascent: 220 m
Level of technical difficulty: high (R1, R2, T1, T2, T3, T4)
Physical activity factor: low (PAF =4)
Duration: 1 hour (depending on the velocity, breaks, etc.)
Water: 0.5 l
Food: not required
Terrain:
- asphalt road – 2.7 km
- country roads and paths – 3.6 km
Description:
There is a gas station at the eastern end of the parking lot at the hospital "St. Marina” (point 01). The route starts from here. The portal with barriers to the hospital yard is next door. We take Lazar Payakov Street, which goes around the hospital yard on the right, moving north. At its end the street turns right at a fenced private property (p.02, 0.4 km). To the left (northwards) along the property there is a narrow path, along which after a hundred meters of riding or pushing we go out at a fountain on another street ("Georgi Kitov") in the villa zone - point 03. Here we take to the right and after another 150 m (point 04) we make a sharp turn to the left on Ivan Ivanov Street and continue the ascent through the villa zone (Sotira living quarter). We follow only the main street, skipping turns to the right in points 05, 06 and 07. The slope is serious, so in some places you may have to push.
At point 08 (1.5 km from the beginning of the route) we reach the last houses and the forest belt - here the street turns into a wide but quite steep path. Along this path we continue to climb to the plateau - by riding or pushing according to our abilities. At the fork in point 09 (2.0 km) we turn to the right.
Shortly afterwards, at point 10 (2.1 km) we go out at the crossroads and take the country road to the right. The terrain is already leveled. After another 50 m (point 11) we turn again to the right on a wide and flat path through a nice and shady forest. Soon you will see a beautiful place on the left where you can sit on the benches and relax. There are tables too. We follow only the main path (at the forks we keep to the left), which has red tourist and cycling markings, and in point 12 (2.6 km) we join a country road to the right. In another 50 m (point 13) we come out at a crossroads, where we take a wide shady path to the right in the forest, following the red markings again. We ride only on this main path (we pass detours in points 14 and 15) to point 16 (3.4 km), where we turn to the right and reach the fenced plot of the TV tower (point 17).
Along the plot there is a wide country road - we drive on it to the right (southwards). We pass a turnoff to the right in point 18, after which the road makes a smooth turn to the left. At the end of this turn (points 19, 3.8 km) we turn to the right on a country road, which is narrower but clear enough. After a hundred meters (point 20) there is a fork - here we turn right again. The road cuts horizontally the whole slope, in several places there are paths that cross it or deviate from it (for example, the main DH route in point 21). In point 22 (4.3 km) we go out on a meadow, where the road turns into a path going straight.
In another 100 m we reach a fork (point 23), where we take the path on the left. This is the "Right" path, because if we look from above, it turns right to the ravine nearby, passes over a few meters of plumb line (ride with caution, because it is narrow!) and descends to the right of the ravine. In point 24 there are paths on the right - we drive straight and downwards.
At point 25 (4.9 km) the trail ends on a country road between private properties - on this road we turn right to Ivan Ivanov Street (point 07), on which we climbed up, and descend back to the starting point through the villa area.
