The mountains represent the beauty of Bulgaria. They include 28% of the territory of the country.

Geographic variety, diversity of plant and animal species, peaks; valleys, rivers, lakes and pretty towns and villages are the basic strokes that describe the unique picture of the Bulgarian ski resorts.

The natural resources here are excellent for skiing and almost all kinds of winter sports. The skiing infrastructure is very well developed, the resorts are supplied with modern facilities both for summer and winter tourism - marked routes, ski tracks, lifts and rope lines. All the resorts offer accommodation that meets the best standards.

FOR THE SKI FANS WE OFFER:

BOROVETZ RESORT

Borovets -the most charming winter resort

Borovets ski resosrt  is situated at an altitude of 1300 m above the sea level in the Rila Mountain, some 73 km from Sofia. Borovets offers perfect conditions for ski-sports - ski for beginners and masters - Alpine and Nordic disciplines, cross-country skiing, ski-jumps, biathlon, heli-ski, snowboard, motor sledges, etc. The resort has hosted twice a stage of the World Cup ski alpine discipline. Here the ski season lasts from November till May, the average January temperature being about minus 4°C. The ski runs of various difficulty are suitable for everyone, be they beginners, intermediate, advanced or expert skiers with a total length for Alpine skiing of 40 km. The slopes and runs are maintained in perfect condition and are designated with international markings and multilingual signs. A snow machines are also available. The resort has modern ski equipment for the tourists with a dense network of ski chair lifts and ski tows - 6, 4 and 1-seat lifts, 10 ski tows. The capacity of the cable car is going to be enlarged from the new season with 30 % and will become up to 1 200 pax per hour. The total capacity of all facilities is already 14 200 people per hour! Two of the main ski runs in the resort, located in front of Rila hotel are equipped with snow cannons and artificial lightning, which makes them suitable for skiing till 22:00 in the evening. Now, a ski stadium for beginners is under constructoin.

Currently a new 200 meters escalator will operate in Borovets. It is one of the longest in Europe and will transport the skiers from “Markudjik” ski area to the upper station of the gondola lift. In front of the Rila hotel is constructed the first family park in Bulgaria “BOROKIDS”. For the new ski season there will be 10 kilometers ski track for easy downhill from “Markudjik” ski area to the “Rila” hotel. Every week there will be competitions and entertainment programs.

One of the best ski schools in Europe is located in Borovets. It guarantees the training of alpine ski disciplines in 5 specialized grades for individuals and groups. Those, who have completed the training course (from 6 to 12 days, 4 hours a day), are given a special certificate.

 

Type/Name of Lifts and Drags	Length (m)	Height Difference (m)	Lower Station (m)	Top Station (m)	Capacity (prs per hour)
6-men Gondola Lift Borovets - Yastrebets	4827	1046	1317	2363	1200
4-men Chair Lift Borovets - Martinovi Baraki	1209	450	1340	1790	1500
1-man Chair Lift Borovets - Sitnyakovska Skala	1902	516	1344	1860	350
Ski Drag Yastrebets I	615	145	1441	1586	550
Ski Drag Yastrebets II	1440	476	1583	2059	550
Ski Drag Markudjik I a	903	213	2230	2443	1000
Ski Drag Markudjik I b	903	213	2230	2443	1000
Ski Drag Markudjik II a	1086	308	2180	2488	1000
Ski Drag Markudjik II b	1086	308	2180	2488	1000
Ski Drag Markudjik III	1031	350	2200	2550	1000
Ski Drag Sitnykovo	130	60	1800	1860	700
Ski Drag Martinovi Baraki II	180	33	1337	1370	700
Ski Drag Martinovi Baraki III	200	50	1340	1390	700
Three Baby Drags

RICH ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

FOR THE GUESTS OF BOROVETS we would recommend a visit to the Rila Monastery, founded in the 10th century (with lunch there). It has a remarkable architecture, mural paintings and a rich collection of icons. This is the biggest monastery in Bulgaria, a real spiritual centre of exceptional importance in the history of our country. The proximity of Borovets to Sofia affords an opportunity for a sightseeing tour of the capital. At the beginning of January, in the town of Pernik, which is only 20 km away from Sofia, a big carnival of the mummers from all over Bulgaria takes place - a real attraction for the foreign guests.

Click here for our selection of hotels in this wonderful winter resort.

BANSKO RESORT

THE BIGGEST AND MOST VISITED SKI RESORT ON THE BALKANS!

Bansko ski resort is set in the southwest part of Bulgaria, 160 km from Sofia, at the foot of the Pirin Mountain, which is under the UNESCO protection. Bansko has a very attractive combination of wonderful nature and romantic atmosphere of the old town, popular for its numerous cultural monuments and rich icon collection of the local Zograf (icon painting) School. The district is famous for its excellent cuisine, the variety of colourful taverns (over 200 in the city) and the authentic folklore. The winter here lasts from December till May, the average January temperature being minus 2°C with heavy snowfalls providing a constant winter snow cover up to 2 m.

The skiing conditions in Bansko are excellent. The new 7 km cabin lift from Bansko to the ski-runs could carry up to 2400 persons per hour. The total length of the ski runs is over 70 km. A total of 55 snow cannons blow an artificial snow to make the ski runs suitable for skiing during the whole season. There is also a 650 m long ski run with artificial lightning, which can be used for night riding. During the new season, two new ski runs are going to be opened with lenght of 1 200 and 1 300 m and displacement of 350 m, suitable for starters and for average skilled skiers. A new 4-seated lift "Doppelmeir". 160 more ski guns for artificial snow are going to be installed. Beacause of the availability of this new eqipment  Bansko is going to become one of the few ski resorts in Europe, where the skiing is possible even in the warm weather. Over 150 instructors are employed in the ski schools and the ski storages can offer 3000 units of ski from all the famous brands like Atomic, Salomon, ect. The number of beds in hotels and apartment complexes in Bansko has reached this year 14 000!

New Lifts	Length (m):	Rise (m):
1. Gondola	6500	600
2. Chair	2055	435
3. Chair	2553	995
4. Chair	681	130
5. Drag	420	29
6. Drag	1200	540
7. Drag	445	107
8. Drag	790	188
9. Drag	380	100
10. Drag	1195	322
New Ski Runs
1.Shiligarnik	1935	460
2. Plato	790	245
3. Shiligarnik + Plato	3143	770
4. Bunderitsa Main	2567	930
5. Bunderitsa Two	460	175
6. Children's Run	276	80

ENTERTAINMENT:

 Nearby is the town of Melnik, famous for its sand pyramides and for the unique Melnik wine, produced from a vine, which grows only here- the wine has a distinguished taste, dense texture and dark red color.

A visit to the Rila Monastery- the biggest monastic building on the Balkans, a monument under the UNESCO protection, also deserves a visit.

Click here for Hotels in Bansko.

PAMPOROVO RESORT

WINTER VACATION IN THE MOUNTAIN OF ORPHEUS

Pamporovo is the sunniest winter resort in Bulgaria - here the winter is soft, but with a lot of snow, and the number of the sunny days during the season from December to March comes up to 120 days. The resort is situated in the south part of the Rhodopes Mountain where, according to the legend, Orpheus, the mythical singer, had lived. Pamporovo has international popularity; it is located at an altitude of 1620 m above the sea level, 85 km from the city of Plovdiv and 250 km from Sofia. The average January temperature is about 3°C. The climate is exclusively healthy and it is no miracle that most of the centenarians in Bulgaria are found in this district.
Pamporovo offers wonderful skiing opportunities, luxury comfort in high-class hotels of an original Rhodopi style, various entertainment and varied night-time opportunities. The resort is a ski-centre for all categories of skiers. It has excellent ski runs even including a racing ski run for giant slalom, as well as first class built-up ski lift system. The gentle profile of the mountain with its rounded slopes and summits make Pamporovo particularly suitable for beginners and intermediate skiers, although the difficult ski runs will test the mettle of any expert. There is a ski-school of international category too, with more than 100 highly qualified instructors. Classes are in 5 difficulty levels, from A to E, and can be taken individually or in groups. Their duration is between 3 and 12 days, 2 or 4 hours daily. All course graduates receive ski-certificates. From one year on Pamporovo is a hit among the investors, who are building holiday properties. Now there are over 70 holiday complexes under construction in the resort, which will offer apartments for vacation.

During the new season, 7 km new ski runs are going to be opened, with which the total lenght of the ski runs in the resort will become 38 km. There are 15 km more for ski runners. The big news is that for this season the first 6-seated lift "Pomagalski" with almost 3 km length and capacity of 2 400 pax per hour is going to start working.

The resort has equipment for artificial snow. Also, besides all traditional services, the resort of Pamporovo is offering the following attractions: half pipe; rack-track train; nigh coasting down with sledges on lightened runs; stroll with sleighs, drawn of huskies – an unique entertainment for the Balkan mountain resorts; wine tasting; specialized hunting restaurant and Nestinar dances.

Type/Name of Lifts and Drags	Length (m)	Height Difference (m)	Lower Station (m)	Top Station (m)	Capacity (prs per hour)
1-man Chair Lift Bus Station - Studenets	720	120	1548	1668	600
1-man Chair Lift Studenets - Snejanka	1200	246	1678	1924	640
1-man Chair Lift Ardashla - Studenets	1528	224	1456	1680	375
2-man Chair Lift Smolyanski Ezera - Snejanka	1456	384	1541	1925	360
3-man Chair Lift Ardashla - Snejanka	2144	425	1500	1925	1800
Ski Drag Studenets	600	178	1673	1851	700
Ski Drag Tourist Run	800	158	1758	1916	850
Ski Drag Malina (Pomagalski)	1340	371	1546	1917	800
Ski Drag Akademika (Pomagalski)	900	100	1820	1920	750
Four Baby Drags	2000

 ENTERTAINMENT:

FOR THE GUESTS OF PAMPOROVO we reccommend to visit the ethnographic reserve in Shiroka Luka, The Trigrad canyon and the caves there: The Devil Throat and Iagodina, the Bachkovo monastery, dated from XI century and the Old Plovdiv.

Click here for our selection of hotels in the sunniest Bulgarian winter resort.

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DEVIN RESORT

The town of Devin is situated in the middle of the Central Rhodopes, in the Vacha river valley at an altitude of 684 meters above sea level. It is 220 km. from Sofia, 100 км from the second biggest city in Bulgaria Plovdiv, 45 km from Smolyan and 35 km from Pamporovo Ski Resort.





Click here for our selection of hotels.

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