Bansko and the Pirin: the back story

About Bansko and the Pirin: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Sofia Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Bansko, about two and a half to three hours south of Sofia, is a town of stone houses and fortified courtyards at the foot of the Pirin mountains. In winter it is Bulgaria’s best-known ski resort; in summer it is the gateway to Pirin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site of glacial lakes and marble peaks.

A Revival town

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Bansko’s merchants grew wealthy and built fortified stone houses. The Church of the Holy Trinity, completed in 1835, was one of the largest churches of its time in Bulgaria, and the town was home to the monk Paisius of Hilendar and the educator Neofit Rilski, whose house is now a museum.

The Pirin

Pirin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983, protects a range of granite and marble peaks, more than a hundred glacial lakes and old forests. Vihren, at 2,914 metres, is the highest peak, and near the Vihren hut stands Baykusheva Mura, a Bosnian pine said to be more than 1,300 years old.

Bansko’s old houses were built like small fortresses, with walls of stone and heavy wooden gates.

Skiing

A gondola lifts skiers from the edge of town to the slopes, and the season usually runs from December to April. Bansko is busy in winter, especially in February.

Summer and jazz

In summer, the Pirin is excellent for hiking, and the Bansko Jazz Festival fills the town square with music in August.

Our advice: stay at least two nights, eat in a mehana in the old town, and in summer walk from the Vihren hut to the lakes. The narrow-gauge railway from Septemvri to Dobrinishte, which stops at Bansko, is one of the most scenic train journeys in Bulgaria.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Bansko and the Pirin: the back story before you go.