Pirin National Park
The emblematic Pirin Mountains.
Summary of contents of this page:
World recognition of the Pirin National Park.
The Pirin National Park in Bulgaria continues to be recognized around the world, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983 (it is 1 of the 10 places recognized by the UNESCO in Bulgaria) and recently, in 2015, the Pirin National Park of Bulgaria was included in the ranking of the prestigious newspaper “The Guardian” as one of the 10 most beautiful national parks, but at the same time not so popular, of Europe, which helps to make visiting it a “adventure experience” while enjoying nature. In addition, it has been awarded the fourth position among the most beautiful National Parks in the world.
Also the international publishing company “Condé Nast”, known for its editions The New Yorker, Vogue, Wire, etc., He said of the Pirin National Park that it is one of the most beautiful natural parks in the world, and "that everyone should see it before they die".
About Pirin, the editorial says on its website that it stands out for the rich variety of plants and rare species, There are even those that descend from those that thrived on its rocky slopes back in the Pleistocene era (between a few ago 1,8 million until before 11.500 years)
Pirin National Park is mainly known for the 70 glacial lakes, but a wide variety of wild animals such as wolves can also be seen, Bears, owls, woodpeckers, etc., - indicates the Website of “Condé Nast”.
Fact sheet of the Pirin Mountains.
But we are going to give the data sheet of these mountains: The Pirin Mountains are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, Vihren being the highest peak at 2.914 altitude meters, located at 41 ° 45′50 ″ N 23 ° 25′30 ″ E / 41.76389, 23.425. The Pirin mountain range stretches around 40 km northwest-southeast, and around 25 km wide. Its extension is 2.585 km².
For many tourists Pirin is the most majestic and at the same time fearsome mountain. It is the second highest mountain in Bulgaria thanks to its Vihren peak (2.914 m) and the third highest mountain in the Balkan Peninsula: Olympo in Greece is the second and the Rila mountain, also in bulgaria (Musala peak 2.925 meters) the highest.
Origin of the name Pirin.
Since many years, people have looked with admiration and respect at Pirin. According to Slavic mythology, the god Perun lived there. A very petulant god, in too bad mood, whose main occupation was to be angry with the human race, throw thunder above the Earth and over people. Hence, some Slavic tribes called it Perun and today Pirin. The Thracians (ancient settlement tribe of present-day Bulgaria) in his time, they called Pirin Orbelus Mountain (or Orbel in Spanish - Montaña Nevada). In Bulgaria it is traditionally considered that the name Pirin comes mainly from the god Perun. According to the interpretation of academic Vladimir Georgiev, However, the name Pirin comes from the Thracian word "perintos" which means rock., and from the Hittite word "perunash." Nevertheless, the historical information about the Hittites is too scarce and it is not certain that they had something to do with Pirin so we lean towards their Thracian origin..
Pirin surroundings.
Pirin Mountain is sparsely populated. The settlements are mainly concentrated in the valleys of the Struma and Mesta rivers. The most developed cities and towns, populated and famous are Razlog, Bansko, Dobrinishte, Breznitsa, Gotse Delchev, Melnik, Sandanski, Brezhani and others.
For its part, the Pirin National Park rises over a significant part of the Pirin Mountains. Historically borders, the administration and management of the Park have undergone many changes. Its surface is 40.332,4 hectares and includes the highest parts from 1.008 until the 2.914 meters : Demyanishki and Vihren areas. It is an exclusive property of the State, not private and borders seven municipalities: Blagoevgrad, Gotse Delchev, Bansko, The reason, Simitli, Kresna, Strumyani and Sandanski. The park also includes two nature reserves:
1) Reserve “Dupki - Dzhindzhiritsa” is one of the oldest reserves in Bulgaria. It was established in 1934, nothing less, to preserve natural primeval black and white fir forests, and the great variety of plant and animal species. In 1977 It was declared a biosphere reserve under the "Man and the Biosphere" program.
2) The “Ulen” Reserve was declared in the year 1994. It is characterized by a very varied forest, subalpine and alpine ecosystems, and the beauty of all the typical forms of the Alpine surface.
Pirin Biodiversity.
Due to its unique natural composition, in 1983 Pirin National Park is declared a World Heritage Site as a UNESCO natural and cultural heritage.
The landscape and the surface of the park is undoubtedly alpine in character. There is more of 80 peaks with a height of more than 2.500 meters. Internal glaciation resulting from continuous cooling has left permanent marks on the face of the mountain. Under the influence of geocrinogenic and glatsiogenic processes, conical and pitted caps are formed, steep and vertical slopes, grooves, caves and in their funds and circus terraces are located the Pirin lakes, that are the origin of mighty rivers and waterfalls.
Botanically the Pirin National Park is one of the most interesting areas, can be seen some 1.300 plant species within the Park. In addition, some 300 species of fungi and large amount of algae. They differ up to 3 vegetation belts in the park according to height: el wooded (silver fir, spruces, Scots pine, etc), the subalpine and the alpine. The park is home to many endemic plant species (214 species) and many other protected, as in Edelweiss, which is also the symbol of Pirin. The total number of protected species is 60. As an anecdote to mention that within the park is the pine “Baykusheva Mura” which is the oldest tree in Bulgaria with more than 1.300 year old.
Regarding the fauna, the number of bird species that can be seen in Pirin is 160, nothing less. There's also 45 mammal species that live in these mountains, like the wild goat, the Wolf or the Brown Bear.
There is no other mountain in Bulgaria with such an influence on humans as Pirin, the gigantic peaks (50 of them with more than 2.500 meters), circuses (35 between big and small), the emerald waters of its lakes (180 lagos), the star-shaped flowers of the Edelweiss, the whisper of the wind among the fir trees and the sound of the water that runs through its rivers make the experience of visiting Pirin unforgettable….
If you want to visit the Pirin mountains you can count on our tourist services: we are a local company and we have experienced certified mountain guides, Hispanic, who know the best hiking trails in the area.
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