PAMPOROVO

Pamporovo is the sunniest winter resort in Bulgaria there the winter is soft, but with a lot of snow, and the number of the sunny days during the season from December to May comes up to 120 days.
The resort is set in the south of the Rhodope Mountain where, according to the legend, Orpheus, the mythical singer, had lived. Pamporovo has international popularity, it is located at an altitude of 1620 m above the sea level, 85 km from Plovdiv city and 250 km from Sofia. The average January temperature is about 3 Celcius. The climate is exclusively healthy and it is no miracle that most of the centenarians in Bulgaria are found in this district.

Skiing

Pamporovo is a ski-centre for all categories of skiers. It has excellent ski runs including even a racing ski run for giant slalom, as well as a first class built-up ski lift system. There is a ski-school of international category too, with more than 100 highly qualified instructors.
Pamporovo offers scores of scenic routes for seeing the Rhodopes Mountain on foot, as well as opportunities to visit some interesting tourist attractions.

Summer activities

In the summer months the tourist associates Pamporovo with mountain quiet and calm, multi-colored and lush meadows and evergreen coniferous forests. Among the nearby sites worth visiting are the Smolyan Lakes and the wonderful village of Shiroka Laka /an architectural, folklore and ethnographical reserve/ 12 km away. Along tourist trails with excellent marking one can walk to: Izgrev Chalet /about 6 hours/, Perelik Chalet /below the top summit of the Rhodopes bearing the same name, 4 to 5 hours/, the Rozhen saddle /2 hours/, the nearby Orpheus' Cliffs and many other scenic sights

Facts about Pamporovo

• Altitude of the resort 1650 m. The highest point is Snejanka at 1926m.
• Snow 150-200 days per year with an average snow layer of 140-150 cm
• Climate - Mild mountain, with strong influence from the Mediteranean
• The sunniest mountain resort in Europe with more than 200 sunny days per year
• One of the best ski-schools in Europe
• 17.5 km alpine tracks with various grades of difficulty
• There are 25 ski slopes including 'The Giant Slalom' and 'The Wall' for the most skilled, as well as 3 long-distance cross-country runs.
• 5 chair-lifts and 13 tows with total capacity 8500 people per hour
• Ski-kindergarden
• Full Ski equipment rental services
• As well as Skiing there is snowboarding, tobogganing, husky dog-sleds, and an unmissable ski show during the season
• Shopping areas
• Bowling alleys, clubs, bars and excellent restaurants