I went to the Rila Monastery and I can’t believe what happend…

As I was sitting at the airport waiting for my flights to Bulgaria I had no plans at all when I arrived there.

Then I remembered… isn’t there Orthodox Monks in Bulgaria?!??! That’s when I asked chatgpt where can I find Orthodox Monks in Bulgaria.

He told me to go to Rila monastery, without looking it up I booked a GetYourGuide tour to go there!

Getting on the bus to go there I wasn’t expecting anything special. But man… I was wrong.

As we started driving deeper into the Rila Mountains, everything just started to feel different. The air, the silence, the forests, the scale of the mountains around us… it didn’t feel like a normal tourist attraction anymore.

When we finally arrived at Rila Monastery, I just stood there quiet for a while.

No music. No jokes. Just listening to the bells and wind.

The place has a weird kind of power. Not in a dramatic fake way, but in a calm, heavy, ancient way.

Inside, the Orthodox icon paintings were insane. Centuries old. Every wall covered in stories. You could feel how important this place has been for Bulgarian history and identity.

We started looking for real Orthodox monks (and failed unfortunately)

And honestly… I felt something there I haven’t felt in a long time.

Peace. Real peace. I found peace in Bulgarian mountains

I also walked through the monastery cemetery, tried their traditional monastery bread and buffalo yogurt, and just explored the area slowly instead of rushing like most tourists.

I recorded this whole once in a lifetime experience.

Here’s the video if anyone’s interested:👉

https://youtu.be/Etts5Y7p14U

And if you watch it, don’t go easy on me.
I’m always trying to improve my filming, storytelling and editing, so I’d genuinely appreciate honest criticism.