Biking in Bulgaria
In my previous posting I discussed (very briefly) the surprising lack of bicycles in Sofia. Now lets continue with something more uplifting and interesting – going to Southwest Bulgaria – the town of Bansko, and the Pirin National Park. Why go there – well in only a few words – beautiful scenery (as you will be able to tell from the photos below), great hiking, and of course the opportunity to actually do mountain biking.
Bansko is located approximately two and a half hour drive from the Sofia international airport. You also have the option of taking a bus as well as a shuttle which could be organized by many of the hotels in town. Here is a map of the region in Bulgaria – Sofia and Bansko – to give you a relative idea
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I will skip all the intricacies of driving in Bulgaria – if you have not done it or do not want to gain that experience, your safe bet is the bus or shuttle services offered. Not a bad idea overall…
Now, about the mountain biking in Bansko. For that you have many options and things to consider.
- Equipment:
- Option 1: check with your hotel – do they offer bikes as part of the package and/or do they rent bikes. In either way, you will need to find out also the options for helmets. I have to assume you have planned ahead and brought your biking shorts :-), gloves, water bottle…
- Yes ! Water bottle is important! Why? The climate in Bulgaria in the summer is hot and dry. You will be in the mountains and having the water bottle will be very much essential – or you may have issues…
- Option 2: Rent the bike(s) from a local shop – there are plenty in the town. I did not use that option — Option 1 above was our solution – so cannot recommend a rental place but I am sure your hotel can do that for you.
- Places for biking:
- There are certainly a lot of them in the area. As a matter of fact – one option for those of you who may want to take it easy – is just to jump on the bike and explore Bansko – the town. I will post on that in a separate article later.
- Another simple option to consider is to use the gondola lift from the edge of town (southern tip of the town) to the area called Banderishki Poliani – that is the end of the Gondola Lift line and proceed from there on the asphalt road all the way back into Bansko. A great and exhilarating trip! All downhill, all at pretty fast speed…!
- The one other option to consider is the trail from Banderishki Poliani to Banderica Challet. Here is a collage of a map and some photos from that trail:
This is the trail we took and enjoyed. Here are some more photos, the beauty of the place is a driver enough to consider exploring – no matter whether on foot or on a bike. Enjoy!