Pamporovo

Pamporovo ( _bg. Пампорово) is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria, one of the best-known in Southeastern Europe. It is set amongst magnificent pine forests and is primarily visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding. It is also a popular tourist place in summer. The hub of Pamporovo comprises a number of excellent hotels and bars. It is also one of the southernmost skiing resorts in Europe.

The resort is set in the southern Rhodope Mountains at an altitude of 1620 meters above sea level. The highest peak in the area, Snezhanka (Bulgarian: Снежанка) at 1928 m, is several hundred meters above the resort. Pamporovo is around 260 km away from Sofia, 85 km south of Plovdiv, 15 km north of Smolyan, and 10 km south of Chepelare.

The resort has 25 km of ski-runs and 38 km of cross-country skiing tracks served by 18 lifts with a total capacity of 8500 persons per hour. Four snow-levelling machines and six snow cannons guarantee skiers comfortable and enjoyable downhill rides. More than 100 highly qualified ski instructors, fluent in various languages, are available to aid both beginners and intermediate skiers as well as snowboarders.

The winters in Pamporovo tend to be mild, but have around 150 days of snowfall each year. This combination allows for a long skiing season at the resort. Pamporovo is renowned for its large number of sunny days during the winter, often topping 120 days from December to May. The average January temperature is 3 degrees Celsius (or 37.4 F).

Much of the older development of the Pamporovo resort lies to the northeast of Snezhanka. Now, to the south there is a really marvellous up-market residential development called the Pine Lodge, conveniently adjacent to the Smolyan Lakes ski lift. There are plans afoot to build two golf courses and to extend the whole skiing area to the Perelik mountain. The Pine Lodge faces the south towards the land of Spartacus, within neighbouring Greece; and a new EU-funded highway will make the Greek coast accessible by car.

External links

Informational

* [http://www.pamporovo.net/indexe.htm Information about Pamporovo]
* [http://www.guide-bulgaria.com/SC/Smolyan/Chepelare/Pamporovo Further information on Pamporovo]

Trivia

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=pamporovo+bulgaria&sll=45.213004,36.650391&sspn=30.700519,59.765625&ie=UTF8&ll=42.617791,26.213379&spn=8.018998,14.941406&z=6&om=1 Location of Pamporovo]
* [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/pamporovo Pictures from Pamporovo]
* [http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.blackburn/Pamporovo2006 More Pamporovo pictures]