Ski resort with an atmosphere
Bansko is located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains and right below the Pirin National Park, included in the List of World Nature Heritage. The town itself attracts visitors with its 120 cultural monuments, its museum-houses and the permanent ethnographic and Bansko school of icon painting exhibitions. A very interesting sight is the Hoyl Trinity Church, with its 30 m high bell-tower and clock, splendid murals and woodcarvings. The region is famous for its cuisine and colorful folklore and offers various entertainment opportunities.

The typical Pirin stone house
Fortified houses made of stone appeared in Bansko during the early National Revival period. By the end of the 17th century, they had become two-storey houses, although they still adhered to mediaeval building traditions. The typical Pirin stone house has two faces - one is a stone facade facing the street, the other an open verandah leading to the three-sided inner courtyard, flanked by the building itself. Small, almost invisible doors set into the walls link the adjoining houses. In certain respects the architecture resembles monastery construction - carefully joined stone masonry, few and small gritted windows, framed with decorative bricks. The general appearance of the houses is quite stern and austere, and only the spacious verandahs with their carved columns and railings provide some interplay of light and color.

Bansko - the famous ski resort
The newest Bulgarian ski centre is also a door to the alpine peaks and unspoiled nature of the Pirin Mountains. The resort is situated in southwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of one of the most beautiful Bulgarian mountains ranges - Pirin. The distance from Sofia to Bansko is 160 km.

The two major ski regions of Bansko - the lower called Chalin Valog (1,100 - 1,600 m) and the higher called Shiligarnika (1,700 - 2,500 m) - are situated above the town, on the northern slopes of the Pirin Mountains. Slalom and giant slalom runs are available in the Shiligarnika region. The third ski region is Banderishka Polyana. But transport to the ski runs is provided. The most suitable nursery slopes are around the Motikata Restaurant, a short distance from the town of Bansko.Nursery slopes are available in the region of Chalin Valog, and in the region of Shiligarnika. Bansko offers a cross-country track with a total length of 5 km at a height of 1,530 m above sea level at the Banderishka Polyana slope a 3 km ski-run Rollbahn track is situated 2 km from the town at 1,050 m above sea level. Bansko Hotels