Bansko

Bansko is situated  at the foot of the Pirin mountains in the south west corner of Bulgaria approximately 2 ½ hours from Sofia and 3-3 ½ hours from Thessaloniki .

The old town (9th/10th century) of Bansko  is surrounded by the Pirin, Rhodope and Rila mountain ranges and at the edge of the Pirin National Park which is included in the UNESCO list for cultural and natural sightseeing. The centre of the town is a listed world heritage site and besides the local church, St. Trinity, there are many historical, architectural, and cultural monuments in Bansko which are well worth visiting.

For après ski, start at the Happy End bar then choose from about 100 tavernas (or mehanas) some of which have live folk music, which offer traditional Bulgarian food and drinks at amazingly low prices.  Visit the numerous bars (beer is less than £1/pint!), go bowling at the Hotel Strazhite or go dancing at the Amnesia – one of the most popular night clubs  in Bansko.

In recent years, Bansko has benefited from a multi million euro investment making it a favourite skiing and snowboarding destination and attracts major competitions. The highest peak – Vihren – rises to 2914 meters. There are 70  km of marked runs, the longest one being 16 kms and there are 7 kms which can be skied at night.   Snowboarders also benefit from a half pipe and a fun park with rails, bumps and jumps.  In addition, there are 5kms of cross country skiing plus off piste skiing. There are a number of web cameras at various sites on the slopes and the conditions can be viewed on line at the base station before you go up the mountain. Some hotels, such as the Kempinski, (next to the base station)  have a large screen displaying this information.  Temperatures range from about -2 degrees in Bansko to – 20 degrees at the top of the mountains, with a snow depth of approximately 2 metres.

The ski season lasts from Dec to May and has 160 snow cannons covering approximately 50% of the ski area.  The 8 seat gondola will take you up the slopes in approximately 20 minutes where you will have access to the rest of the modern lift system and the slopes.

This is an all year round resort and some of the activities are as follows :-

Winter: skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, ice skating, and cross country skiing.

Summer: Walking/hiking, mountain biking, horse riding, fishing, golfing, white water rafting.

For tours: www.amazing-bulgaria.org

There is also an annual international jazz festival.

A water park is currently under construction, as is an indoor go-kart track in Razlog, which is approximately 6 kms from Bansko.