Bansko

Area Profile

Until recently Bansko was not one of the best known ski areas in Bulgaria. But heavy investment right across the ski area and the resort have utterly transformed this small medieval town and its ski area in to a year-round, international destination resort.

Most prominent of these improvewments for skiers and boarders is a remarkable new gondola that cuts out the old 12km (8 mile) drive between town and ski slopes. Then once your on the snow - once served by a few elderly chairs and drag lifts, you'll find high speed detachable Doppelmayr quads, near comprehensive snow making, night skiing and more than six times as many pisted runs as before, maintained by a fleet of a dozen new groomers.

The combination of a lively, historic, architectural intertesting and culturally rich ski resort with an exciting modern ski areas, all within the spectacular beauty of the Pirin Mountain, with its untamed nature and recognition of being on UNESCO's List of World Heritage sites, is a rare and winning conbination.

Bansko town is blessed with a mild climate and yet the season is long up on the slopes where you can expect to have crisp snow on the ski pistes until early May. Recent investment in snow making equipment has made the resort even more confident in claiming to have a truly long ski season.