Ogreyak
1,932 m
Bulgaria, North Macedonia
Also known as Огреяк, Kadiytsa, +3Also known as
Огреяк · Kadiytsa · Кадийца / Огреяк · Кадиица · Ogrejak
- Elevation
- 1,932 m
- Prominence
- 1,007 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1The shortest way to the highest point of Vlahina: from the end of the asphalt below Brestovo (about 1,215 m) up a switchbacking logging road through beech forest, then straight up a steep, pathless grassy ridge to the border summit. About 3.5 km and 710 m of ascent; 2 hours up. Unmarked and without water.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 2.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +684 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 1,932 m
- Time Up
- 2h 37m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 1h 43m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Simitli drive up the damaged asphalt road past the turn-off for the Komatinski rocks towards Brestovo; at the next junction keep right and downhill on the asphalt, which ends after a small bridge. A cart track continues to a wider spot beside the Vraneshtitsa river (about 1,215 m), where you park. At the fork by the parking place ignore the left branch across the river and take the right-hand logging road, which climbs in switchbacks beside a tributary through beech forest almost to the ridge; the road was still being extended in 2017, so it may not match older tracks. Where it ends, go straight up the ridge, soon leaving the forest for open subalpine grassland. The last slope is steep and slower than it looks. The trig point (1,924 m) is on the lower of two humps; the true high point (1,932 m) is about 100–120 m away at border pyramid No. 55 on the Bulgaria–North Macedonia border. Return the same way. There is no waymarking and no water. A longer loop continues south along a dirt road to Ilyov Vrah (1,803 m), the high point of the Maleshevska mountain, and back to Brestovo (about 18 km, 8–8½ hours); another long approach (6–7 hours) comes from Gorna Breznitsa via the former 19th border outpost and Ilyov Vrah.
Start
Brestovo road end1,254 m
- No public transport to the trailhead was found; the nearest town is Simitli.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brestovo road end → Ogreyak | 2.6 | 684 | 8 | 2h 37m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Brestovo road end1,254 m
- Feature: Ogreyak trig point1,921 m
Lower eastern hump with the official elevation mark
- Summit: Ogreyak1,932 m
Key Passages
- End of the logging road
- Steep pathless ridge above the treeline
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 60%Overview
Ogreyak, locally Kadiytsa (1,932 m), is the highest point of the Vlahina mountain on the Bulgaria–North Macedonia border south-west of Simitli. A quiet, unmarked climb through beech forest to open grassland with wide views over Rila, Pirin and the Macedonian ranges.
Vlahina is a little-visited border range between the Struma valley and North Macedonia, and Ogreyak sits at the southern end of its main ridge, where the Sedloto (Chetalo) saddle links it to the Maleshevska mountain and its high point Ilyov Vrah. The state border runs along the crest, and border pyramid No. 55 marks the highest point; the frequently quoted 1,924 m refers to a triangulation mark about 120 m east of the true summit.
The mountain is built of metamorphic rock. Beech forest covers the slopes up to about 1,600 m, above which the rounded summit rises abruptly from the flat ridge, with gentle northern and western sides and steep south-western and south-eastern slopes. On a clear day the summit view takes in Rila, Pirin, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Ograzhden and Osogovo.
There are no huts or waymarked trails; routes follow logging and former border-patrol roads and pathless slopes from the villages of Brestovo and Sushitsa (Simitli municipality) or from Gorna Breznitsa via Ilyov Vrah.
Climbing Notes
A short but steep half day from the end of the road below Brestovo: about 710 m of ascent in 2 hours up, no water and no waymarks, so carry a GPS track. Notify the Bulgarian Border Police before going, as the summit lies on the state border, and carry ID. Combining the summit with Ilyov Vrah makes a long day of 8–8½ hours. The usual season is April to November; in winter the climb is a snowshoe outing on a steep upper slope.
History
The name has changed several times: the peak was officially Kadiytsa until 1942, Ogreyak until 1946, Kadiytsa again until 1988 and Ogreyak since then. Locals and Macedonian maps still use Kadiytsa (Kadiica).
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Good
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Winter ascent; steep snow slope at the top
- Mar
- Snow; muddy logging roads
- Apr
- Season starts
- Jul
- Hot; no water on the route
- Aug
- Hot; no water on the route
- Oct
- Beech forest in autumn colours
- Nov
- End of the usual season
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Border police notificationRequired
The summit lies on the Bulgaria–North Macedonia border. Bulgarian sources state that the Border Police must be notified, or permission obtained, before climbing; contact details were not published in the sources read.
bg.wikipedia.org
- Rules
- Crossing the state border at the summit is not an official border crossing
- Getting There
Simitli
Sofia Airport (SOF)
- By car from Simitli on a damaged asphalt road towards Brestovo; the asphalt ends after a small bridge and a cart track leads to parking by the Vraneshtitsa river
- Alternative start: Gorna Breznitsa, dirt road to the former 19th border outpost
- No public transport to the trailheads was found
Hazards
- Remoteness