Pamporovo is an all year round mountain resort in Bulgaria. It is situated in the beautiful, internal parts of the Rhodope Mountains, at 1650 meters altitude level, at the foot of Mount Snejanka. It is located in the municipality of Smolyan, about 260 km from Sofia, 85 km from Plovdiv, 15 km north of Smolyan and 10 km south of Chepelare.
The climate in the Pamporovo region is distinguished with a mild winter that has more than 100 sunny days. The resort ranks in first place when it comes to sunny days among all the mountain resorts in Bulgaria. The average annual temperature is 5.5°С.
Pamporovo’s main tourist flow is during the winter months. The resort features a wide range of lifts and ski tows, artificial snow cannons and a number of different ski sports tracks. Nearly all the ski slopes in the resort start from Mount Snejanka with an altitude level ranging from 1400 meters to 1926 meters.
The tourist season starts in December and continuous all the way until the end of April. The region is known for its beautiful natural environment which makes it an attractive site for tourists during the summer as well. The lovely views, fresh air and that mountain feeling of peace and quiet are a great attraction to tourists from both Bulgaria and abroad.
There are a number of tourist attractions available during the summer, such as: mountain biking, hiking trails of various difficulty, picnic sites and many others.
Snejanka Peak is one of the 100 National Tourist Sites chosen by the Bulgarian Tourist Union.
Ski trails in Pamporovo have different difficulty ratings; the resort’s ski zone is represented with every level of the European colour rating system indicating the trail difficulty. There are green pistes suitable for beginners (Pamporovo is popular with its best conditions for beginner skiers on the Balkans; slant green trails with long and easy slopes), blue and red pistes and couple of the much loved by the professionals black pistes.
The overall length of all ski trails is 37km (23mi) and along with the cross-country skiing they come together up to 65km (40mi). The biggest share of them belongs to the green and blue trails. Pamporovo is especially appropriate for cross-country skiing and more than 30km trails going through the majestic forests of the Rhodopa mountail, reaching the nearby village of Mugla. It is easy to find your way or plan your route – all trails start from the Snezhanka peak (1926m) whose famous TV tower can be seen from every corner of the ski zone.
The main piste where the international competitions are carried out, #2 Stenata has been recently homologued and recultivated with a new final base according to all FIS requirements for professional level tournaments. The Stenata piste is lighted during the evening and offers the much in demand night training the professional skiers and snowboarders are looking for. If the conditions are suitable, the night skiing starts at 18:00 by 22:00 and the operating lift is #2 Sudenets- Snezhanka peak. Last year the fully-renewed ski center Studenets has a new ticket office and facilitated access to the tourniquets.
All ski and snowboard trails are part of a well-developed infrastructure with enough additional services to ensure the skiers traffic runs smoothly – the area has enough ski lifts, snow grooming machines, artificial snow making and grooming, first aid, and good places for relaxation and lunch.
Map of the ski trails
