Beginning at Kom Peak (2,016 m (6,614 ft)) in the west near the border with Serbia, Kom–Emine continues east for some 650 km (400 mi) until it reaches the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at Cape Emine.

The middle section, Kom–Emine's highest, coincides with the Central Balkan National Park and regularly rises above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

Summer is the preferred season to walk Kom–Emine, though the lowest, eastern parts of the trail can get uncomfortably hot.

[1] The trail was first successfully traversed in 1933 by the hiking pioneer Pavel Deliradev, though a route along the entire Balkan Mountains had already been conceived by writer Aleko Konstantinov, who was unable to embark on the hike before his assassination.

[5] Bulgarian extreme runner Bozhidar Antonov holds the record for the fastest crossing of Kom–Emine.