Borovets

Borovets began as a royal hunting base in 1896 and became the first Bulgarian ski resort, and it sits at about thirteen hundred metres in pine forest on the northern side of Rila with lifts running up to around twenty-six hundred, including a gondola to Yastrebets that is also the standard start for the walk up Musala. The skiing is spread over three sectors with a mixture of forest runs and open ground above the treeline, and it has hosted World Cup races. In summer the same gondola serves walkers heading for Musala and the Rila lakes, and there are mountain bike routes. The resort itself is a strip of hotels and bars with no village behind it.

History

Known as Chamkoria until the middle of the 20th century, Borovets began in 1896 as a hunting ground for Bulgaria's rulers, when General Tantilov, then a lieutenant colonel, built the first holiday villa and Ferdinand I later built the Tsarska Bistritsa palace. Through the 20th century it grew into the oldest Bulgarian winter resort, with hotels and a network of lifts and runs, and it hosted World Cup alpine races in 1981 and 1984 and the Biathlon World Championships of 1993 (Wikipedia, Borovets).

What to look for

• The Yastrebets gondola - the lift up to 2,360 metres, used year round.
• Forest and above-treeline runs - the two halves of the ski area.
• The Musala trailhead - the standard summer start for the highest Balkan peak.
• The oldest Bulgarian resort - operating in some form since 1896.

When to go

December to April for skiing and June to September for walking. A weekend or a week. The gondola closes in wind and for maintenance between seasons. February is the most reliable snow.

What to expect

The resort is a hotel strip with no real village and a great deal of aggressive nightlife in winter. The gondola is old and queues badly at peak times. Lift closures for wind are frequent. Prices have risen sharply.

Nearby

Musala is above; the Seven Rila Lakes lie west.