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Pamporovo
Pamporovo resort is the largest ski resort in Bulgaria. It is
situated in the heart of the Rhodope mountains at a distance
of 240
kilometres from the capital Sofia and 85 kilometres to the
south of Plovdiv, the second largest town in Bulgaria. Both
towns have their airports. You can easily get to Pamporovo by
bus from either Sofia or Plovdiv. There are direct bus lines.
You can also easily get to Pamporovo by car.
Smolyan
Smolyan, the administrative centre of the region, is situated
11 kilometres to the south of Pamporovo. The town is a
students' and youth's lively centre, offering a number of
possibilities for entertainment and cultural life.
Climate
With its 270 sunny days a year, Pamporovo is famous for being
the sunniest Bulgarian ski resort. The climate here is mild,
there are no abrupt changes in weather, neither are there any
winds. The snow cover lasts for over 150 days a year, its
average depth is 140 to 150 centimetres, often reaching over 2
metres. The average temperature in the winter is minus 3
degrees Centigrade.
Pamporovo is situated at an altitude of 1650 metres above sea
level, at the foot of Snejanka peak (1926 metres high), and it
is from there that the ski courses start, reaching down to the
resort and to the notorious Smolyan lakes.
Conditions for skiing
In the region of Pamporovo the snow days are over 150 a year
and the snow cover is steady, reaching up to 2 metres. The
season appropriate for skiing and snowboarding begins at the
end of November and lasts until the end of April.
The ski courses near Pamporovo are situated at an altitude of
1925 and 2000 metres above sea level. They have different
degrees of difficulty and the total length thereof is over 18,000 metres. For the lovers of ski running and biathlon
there are courses near the Snejanka peak and there is also a
shooting range at the Yazovira region. The cableways and
ski-lifts of the ski courses have the capacity of
8,500
persons an hour.
The resort has several ski schools offering highly-qualified
instruction in skiing and snowboarding at various levels. Both
national and international ski competitions are held here -
Alpine disciplines, ski running, ski orientation, biathlon as
well as the greatest Bulgarian competitions in snowboarding -
free style.
If you have no skis of your own, you may hire skis or a
snowboard for one, three or six days from any of the skiing
lodges in Pamporovo. |
