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Fourteen kilometres beyond Gara Lakatnik, a minor road leaves the Iskar valley at the village of ELISEINA to climb beside the Gabrovnitsa stream towards the mountain hamlet of OSENOVLAG , 23km beyond. About two-thirds of the way along, the road passes the Monastery of Sedemte Prestola (Seven Altars), a walled huddle of buildings surrounded by pine forests and crags. It's inside the dainty church (officially open daily 10-11am & 3-4pm, but often accessible outside these times at weekends) that the reason for the monastery's name becomes apparent, with the main altar at the head of the nave augmented by six side altars - low-ceilinged cubicles reached through arched doors on either side of the nave - each with its own small iconostasis and candle-lighting area. The wooded environs of the monastery present the perfect place for a short hike: cross the footbridge opposite the monastery gate to pick up a trail which leads up onto hay meadows and into the pines beyond. In theory the Tarstena hizha , high above the village of Lakatnik to the west, is four hours' walk from here, although the path is badly marked. There's only one bus a day from Eliseina train station to Osenovlag, passing the monastery on the way. The monastery has basic rooms (no phone; US$9-18), but water supplies are intermittent and there's no food or drink.
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