Location: The town of Bansko is situated nearby the river Glazane (left feeder of Mesta River) in the north- eastern foot of Pirin, right bellow the highest and most beautiful part of the mountain. Its name comes from the old Bulgarian word “ban”, which means “master”. It is just 160 kilometers away from Sofia and 6 kilometers from Razlog. Bansko has developed into a favourite ski & snowboard destination, thanks to the excellent ski facilities combined with the unique architecture and historical significance.
Climate: The average annual temperature is 9.1°С. During a period of December – January – February the temperatures are the lowest, and in July – August - the highest. The average initial date of stable temperature above 0°C is approximately on 27 March, and the danger of crucial spring frosts is over in the middle of May.
Places of interest:The town itself attracts visitors by its 120 cultural monuments, its museums houses, and the permanent ethnographic and Bansko schlool of icon painting exhibitions. Bansko municipality includes some parts of the biosphere reservation Bayuvi Dupki-Djindjiritsa and National Park Pirin, reservation Yulen, 11 noteworthy places of nature, and 11 historic sights. The following objects of nature are declared to be under protection: the waterfalls Bandera’s leap, Demian’s leap, Yulen’s leap, Wedding Party cliff formation, Banderitsa cave, 7-century trees, among which is the Baikusha’s white fir as well. The most impressive forms of the relief are the high cliff peaks, deep bottomless precipices, tens of big and smaller circles, at the bottoms of which there are 186 crystal clear lakes. Remarkable as architectural monuments and examples of fine art are the Velyanova, Benina, Sirleshtova, Todeva, Molerova, Dragostinova, Sharkova houses. The Sveta Troitsa church, the bell tower with the big clock, the midlevel church "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" with its remarkable wood-carved iconostasis make for fine accents in Bansko's atmosphere. Also noteworthy are the museum houses and collections, souvenir shops and romantic holiday residences, hotels and taverns cuddled in the narrow and picturesque streets.
Ski runs: The two major ski regions of Bansko - the lower called CHALIN VALOG (1100-1600m) and the higher called SHILIGARNIKA (1700-2500m) - are situated above the town, on the nothern slopes of Pirin mountain. Slalom and grand slalom runs are available in the SHILIGARNIKA region. The third ski region is BANDERISHKA POLIANA. The most suitable nursery slopes are around MOTIKATA restaurant, a short distance from the town of Bansko. Nursery slopes are also available in the region of CHALIN VALOG and SHILIGARNIKA. Bansko offers a cross-country track with a total lenght of 5 km. at a height of 1530 m above sea level at the BANDERISHKA POLIANA slope. A 3 km ski-run Rollbahn track is situated 2 km from the town at 1050 m above the sea level. The snowboard lovers can enjoy the first on the Balkans fun park where people from all over the world are lead by the passion of the extreme. They can build jumps suiting their taste and abilities. The Bansko ski school offers skiing classes in 5 different difficulty levels, from A to E - in groups or individually of varying duration. The tuition in cross-country skiing is in 2 classes of difficulty. All graduates receive skiing certificates.
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