Pamporovo, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Pamporovo has many, many sunny days and very mild winters, and the ski season is not too long: from December to mid-April. Hot springs gushing out of the ground in abundance gave rise to the opening of several balneological centers in Pamporovo.
Sometimes, even in the dead of winter, Pamporovo “sins” not with snowfalls, but with showers, but it is able to compensate for this shortcoming with the presence of thermal springs. The resort is famous for its radon and sulfur baths, thanks to which you can improve your health even in a short time. See JIBIN123 for Bulgaria customs regulations and visa requirements.
How to get to Pamporovo
Pamporovo is located in the Rhodope Mountains, the nearest major city is Plovdiv, which is 85 km away. To the Bulgarian capital, respectively, 260 km, so it is better to fly to Plovdiv. The transfer will take about an hour.
Hotels
On the territory of the resort you can find more than 25 hotels and apartments that accept tourists for accommodation. Popular hotels among guests include Pamporovo, Belmont and Orlovets, which are located near the ski slopes.
Cuisine and restaurants
Pamporovo is the sunniest of the ski resorts in Bulgaria, and, according to legend, the legendary Orpheus was born here. Perhaps it is he who owes the resort its rich cultural and folklore program offered to tourists. “Malina”, “Vodenitsa”, “Chevermeta” – this is an incomplete list of taverns that delight their guests not only with excellent cuisine, but also with concerts, creative evenings, performances by artists of the national genre.
A frequently encountered paradox: despite the resort place full of tourists willing to part with significant amounts of money, the local bars keep wine prices at a very low level. According to European tradition, local bartenders also bring a full plate of snacks to wine – homemade cheese, tartlets, canapes. And all this for an unusual fee for Russians.
This is explained quite simply: the wine that Bulgarians serve is usually local, literally from neighboring vineyards and wineries, and many make their own wine in their home cellars.
Thanks to the centuries-old traditions of wine production, Bulgarian wine is almost always very tasty, it does not give you a headache, and it fully complies with global standards of quality and taste. But its cost is really very low, and the Bulgarians are in no hurry to break this economic idyll.
The bars also serve “winter” hot drinks – mulled wine, punch, grog, from the dishes you will definitely be offered baked meat, including game, amazing, inherited from the Turks, coffee and sweets.
Pamporovo slopes
This ski resort will delight those who are just about to start skiing, are not yet very confident in their sports abilities, as well as families with children. There are 4 equipped pistes with gentle slopes, a ski school and a real kindergarten.
The routes are as safe as possible, uncomplicated, although there are also quite difficult and steep routes – just for those who can handle difficulties.
For intermediate skiers, Pamporovo offers a good selection of wide and long pistes on top of Mount Snezhanka (1925 m). For experienced skiers, the Stenata is a steep, narrow and bumpy slope, several interesting red slopes, as well as an international slalom slope. There are 25 km of trails for cross-country skiers, and a half-pipe for snowboarders. Basically, Pamporovo is replete with trails about two to three dozen meters wide, surrounded by forests or a slope with trees on both sides, although sometimes there are cliffs. Not everywhere there are ski lifts nearby, but where the tracks are a little removed from them, there are fewer people. There are quite a lot of gentle roll-outs on green trails, and it is not so easy to pass them by coasting.
There are also three black runs, two of which turn green after half a kilometer. There is also the blackest track with a roll-out straight to Studenets. This is a middle station, crowded, lively: it is here that you will find local restaurants, clubs, bars, discos.
When buying a ski pass for three days or more, a night ski pass is included as a bonus.
Entertainment and attractions of Pamporovo
Pamporovo is a cozy place right in the middle of the mountains, the tops of which are decorated with thick and powerful leys. One of the peaks is crowned with a TV tower, from where programs are broadcast throughout the country.
Pamporovo is a small town, once in it, it is worth looking into the hotel in the center of Perelik – a building in which there are many shopping centers, bars, restaurants and everything you need for complete relaxation. As for entertainment outside of Pamporovo, on the ground you will always be offered standard excursions to Sofia, Plovdiv, Rila and Bachkovo monasteries, as well as to the Asen fortress, the ethnographic village of Shiroka-Lyka and in Chepelare, where the only speleological museum in Bulgaria is open.
A large sports and entertainment center (pool, sauna, fitness center, physiotherapy room, archery), many restaurants, discos, bars and karaoke. The resort hosts “ski carnivals”, ski shows and entertainment evenings.
Prices on the page are for July 2021.
