Pirin National Park
Granite peaks at ten thousand feet and a hundred and eighteen glacial lakes, UNESCO-listed.
Duration
5 hrs – 8 hrs
Difficulty
●●●○○
Best time
June to September
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Pirin national park covers forty thousand hectares of granite mountain in south-western Bulgaria, with some sixty peaks above two thousand five hundred metres and a hundred and eighteen glacial lakes.
It has been World Heritage listed since 1983. The Baikushev pine, in the lower reaches, is dated at around thirteen hundred years — one of the oldest trees in Bulgaria, contemporary with the founding of the first Bulgarian kingdom. The Bansko gondola gives access to the high trails without the thousand-metre climb.
Getting there
Gondola from Bansko, or the road to the Vihren hut. The high trails start from both.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
Snow lies into June on the high trails and the weather turns fast: check the forecast at the hut before setting off. The gondola closes between seasons, in April-May and October-November.