Tucked away in the foot of Pirin Mountain the town of Bansko is a mesmerizing place for Bulgarian and foreign tourists all year round. Equally attractive during all four seasons, the town offers a variety of conditions for recreation and repose. Bansko is popular for its wonderful ski tourism opportunities combined with distinctive folklore and ancient Bulgarian architecture.

Bansko was proclaimed the place of world natural heritage by UNESCO. Besides the beautiful Pirin Mountain and the numerous landmarks the town is abounding in its historical sights - there are about 120 monuments alone here.

Bansko is located in the southwest part of Bulgaria - 160 km away from Sofia. The geographical location of the town furthers the retention of the snow coverage from December to May and the alpine character of Pirin Mountain offers perfect opportunities for both professional and amateur ski sports practice.

The average annual temperature is 9.1°C. The lowest values of the temperature are in the period of the months of December - January - February. The highest values are in the months of July and August.

Bansko is a very eclectic town where the old and new realities cohabit together.
The museums in Bansko are part of the unforgettable world of the past times. They gather objects illustrating customs of the people - findings of the archeology and ethnography, ancient national costumes, books and manuscripts, original sacred images, wood carvings, etc.


The house - museum of Nikola Vaptzarov

Nikola Vaptzarov (born in 1909) was an anti-fascist poet. His remarkable works assign him a place among the most popular poets of XX century. His poetry has been translated into more than 50 languages. Executed in 1942 Nikola Vaptzarov was the only Bulgarian who was honoured with international award for peace, though posthumously.
Native house of Nikola Vaptzarov was turned into a museum in 1952. It was reconstructed in 1960, 1979 and 1992. The today's exposition features a very high professional level and non traditional for a memorial museum methods of presentation of the information.


The house - museum Velianova kashta

Velianova kashta is a house constructed and previously occupatied by a master of wall painting, one of the painters who decorated the St. Triniti church . Proclaimed monument of culture of national importance this is the original fortified house in Bansko from the Renaissance. The visitor of Velianova kashta is impressed from the very moment of stepping across the ancient gateway.

The house - museum of Neofit Rilski - Benina kashta

Benina kashta is the native house of Neofit Rilski - Bulgarian monastic, school master and painter, originator of Bulgarian worldly-minded education and first Bulgarian person of encyclopaedic knowledge (he lived in the house till 1811). The house is typical example of the architectural style of Bansko - stone construction, open veranda and small yard. It is dated as far back as the end of XVII century or the beginning of XIX century. The house is proclaimed a national monument of material culture.
Located five minutes walk from the center of the town is the permanent exhibition of sacred images 'Art school of Bansko'. It is held in the oldest precisely dated building in Bansko - 1749 that is proclaimed monument of material culture. The exposition is arranged in six showrooms and represents the history of iconographic school of Bansko.

The Paisii Hilendarski monument

Paisii Hilendarski (1722-1773) - was a leader of Bulgarian National. He is the first interpreter of the idea of national renaissance and liberation of Bulgarian people. He had written the first Bulgarian history, which was finished in 1762.
One of the most attractive sights of Bansko is the St. Trinity church. It was built in 1835 and it is one of the biggest churches (with three auditoriums) that were built on Bulgarian soil at that time. A 30 m high tower with a clock rises in the yard of the church.

Bansko is known as a center of mountain and ski sports. There are modern ski utilities and newly constructed (cabin) ski-lift.

There are runs in the resort for all categories of visitors - from beginners to masters. At their disposal is a good set of ski tows. The piste is safe and is excellently maintained.

A total of 56 km of ski runs are perfectly maintained through their treatment by 12 Kassbohrer snow-stamping machines. The ski season is guaranteed from December to May thanks to 30 «TechnoAlpin» artificial snow guns.

Number	Name	Difficulty	map
1	Bansko	Easy
2	Banderitza	Easy
3	Plateau 1	Easy
4	Balkaniada	Medium
5	Shiligarnik 1	Easy
6	Todorka	Medium
7	Old Track	Medium
8	Ulen	Medium
9	Tomba	Hard
10	Shiligarnik 2	Easy
11	Plateau 2	Medium
12	Strajite	Medium
13	Chalin valog 1	Medium
14	Chalin valog 2	Medium

The altitude of the highest point of the ski center is 2560 m, the lowest - 1000 m. 80% of the tracks are equipped with artificial snow generating machines.

This year the ski centre also offer s a wonderful 16 km long ski run equipped with artificial snow generating machines and lights. The track connects the high places of the resort with the town of Bansko.

Ski track Todorka - the area of Todorka peak has been known among the fans of extreme ski sport and snowboard for a rather long time as the best place in Bulgaria for off-piste skiing and boarding. No other place could be found where you can ride down through such pleasant places at minimum efforts. Furthermore - if you hear someone telling a story about some incredible ride on thick virgin snow usually it concerns Bansko. The perfect combination of climate, forest and slopes is what makes the conditions here so good. The precipitation here is usually high thanks to humid Mediterranean air. The centuries old white fir forests are in position to keep the snow crumbled even if the weather has been warm and sunny for days. The stable slope and long mountainside make the ride down really interesting!

Bansko is candidate host of 2014 winter Olympics.

Bansko is a unique and distinctive small town of the Bulgarian national revival. Bansko is the center of the winter sports in southwest Bulgaria; in the summertime Bansko is the starting point of many tourist routes in Pirin Mountain.

Walking down in the quiet streets of Bansko one can feel the calm coming from Pirin and embracing the whole town. The great number of small taverns, restaurants, discotheques and cafes turn the stay of each visitor of Bansko into an extraordinary and unforgettable experience. Local wine and cuisine could be tested in more than one hundred public places, mainly taverns. You could enjoy the performance of local singers and ensembles in many of the public places. The specific cuisine includes dishes like "kapama", "chomlek" and "banski staretz".


In the night of New Year local men disguise themselves as kukeri (babugeri) and act out rituals to chase the evil spirits away from the town. The culture calendar subsumes Easter concert, Festival of the Traditions, Jazz Festival, Christmas concerts and many others.

Many popular performers from the country and abroad take part in the summer jazz festival held every year. Parallel entertainment itineraries during the festival offer the visitors sightseeing over the historical monuments of the town, heavenly nature and of course the tasting of the famous dishes and wines of Bansko.

The impressive sceneries, unique nature, originally glamorous settlements with their distinctive culture make Pirin Mountain one of the most attractive places for the tourists.

Peak of Vihren is known among the tourists as the peak of the storms. It is the highest peak of the Pirin Mountain (2914 m) and the third highest on Balkan Peninsula. Seen from north Vihren looks like a truncated pyramid with an impressive vertical wall 420 m high in the foot of which lies the perpetual blanket of snow.

If you love alpine type mountains - high rocky peaks, deep precipices with vertical walls, clear alpine lakes and streaming rivers you must visit Pirin!

Many ancient cultures wielded the sceptre in Pirin region - the Thracian, the Roman, Byzantine, Slav and proto-Bulgarian. Remains of ancient settlements, fortresses and routes could still be seen here. Local people often uncover pieces of ancient objects during the ploughing. Invaluable traces of Bulgarian national revival age can be seen in the architectural reserves of Melnik, Bansko, Kovachevtzi and Dolen as well as in the numerous churches and monasteries (including one of the best known monasteries in Bulgaria - the Rila monastery) spread all over the region. Each settlement in Pirin region has its own jealously kept traditions and its own folk ensemble.


The nature gathered in Pirin more than a half of Bulgarian flora and fauna. White fir, edelweiss and wild goats can be seen here. The extraordinary variety of species (more than 1100 species of plants, 102 species of birds and 42 species of mammals) turns Pirin into an invaluable place in scientific aspect.

13 tourist itineraries are fixed on the territory of Pirin, one of them is the international E4. They take from 2.30 up to 8 hours walk.

The following kinds of tourism are practiced in the territory of the park:

- village tourism;
- eco tourism;
- photo tourism;
- cognitive tourism;
- pedestrian tourism;
- cruising holiday;
- horse riding tourism;
- mountain cycling;

Pirin is an invaluable place for the tourist in the summertime and in the winter it turns into paradise for the skiers. The snow blanket stays from late autumn till late springtime and attracts skiers from all over the world. Excellent ski runs, cool wind and sparkling sun are part of the fascinating experience called Pirin.