Bulgaria property news and articles

In the 19th century the ruling Prince Ferdinand built a hunting lodge at Borovets and was followed by various wealthy families and their friends. As a result one of Europe’s earliest ski resorts developed. The modern resort was built in the 1960s to cater for package ski holidays; during the Communist era its proximity to Sofia made it the favoured resort for Party officials and Sofia’s diplomatic set. In the last few years Borovets has attracted considerable private development and investment, but as yet not on the scale of its neighbour, Bansko. Hoping to replicate the success of Bansko, a’Super Borovets’project was planned (see overleaf) as a more luxurious and larger-scale replica of Bankso.

For now Borovets is attracting far less interest from buyers than Bansko and Pamporovo. Some apartments are being built in lower Borovets ahead of the upgrade of the ski facilities. Prices here are generally lower than those of the other ski resorts.

Borovets Location

The picturesque resort of Borovets is located in the Rila mountains and is one °r the best-established winter resorts in southeast Europe; it is the oldest m°untain resort in Bulgaria. The resort is 1,350m above sea level on the n°rthern slopes of the Rila mountains. Borovets is at the foot of the Moussala Peak (2,925m)-the highest peak on the Balkan Peninsula.The resort is located 73km from Sofia and 126km from Plovdiv, so Sofia and Plovdiv can serve as arrival and departure points as they both have international airports.

The Rila mountains seem to be a piece of the Alps thrown into the heart of the Balkans with their many peaks above 2,000m, glacial valleys and lakes. The snow cover on the parts that are of equal altitude to the Alpine heights often exceeds two metres. Eastern Rila is the highest part of the mountain and is where one can visit Rila’s highest peak – Moussala (2,925m) – and the 10 top peaks, and glacial lake (2,709m). Northwestern Rila is home to some of the symbols of Bulgarian alpinism and mountaineering – the Malyovitsa and Kupenite peaks, and the biggest and significant lake groups, the most famous and scenic of all being the Seven Rila Lakes. Many marked tourist hiking trails and high-mountain rock-climbing tours start from here.

Super Borovets project

At least €400 million will be needed to implement the project to develop Bulgaria’s Borovets resort, called ‘Super Borovets’.The increase in hotel capacity in Borovets will create an additional 10,000 beds. The project includes the construction of new ski-racing tracks, lifts, a winter stadium, an aqua park, car parks, restaurants, a golf course and a crafts complex. In 2009 Borovets will look very different from the way it looks today-the resort will spread from the town of Samokov to the village of Beli Iskar, and will be divided into three levels, offering various accommodation facilities in line with tourist preferences.

Climate in Borovets

The climate isfavourablefor skiing.Winters are mild with lots of snow and the average temperature during the coldest month of January is 4.8°C. Usually the slopes of Borovets have snow cover from December until April.