Pamporovo ski resort in Bulgaria's southern Rhodope Mountains is arguably the country's best destination for ski and snowboard beginners as well as for families. One drawback though is that most UK tour operators fly into Sofia rather than nearby Plovdiv airport, resulting in a tedious transfer journey of more than three hours.
One of Europe's southernmost ski areas, Pamporovo is around 85km to the south of Plovdiv. The Greek Aegean coast lies just 100km further south and the Mediterranean influence is definitely a major factor in the area's microclimate. Pamporovo is hailed as Bulgaria's sunniest ski resort, yet it still manages to record a respectable (although somewhat erratic) amount of snowfall throughout the season.
With almost nothing in the way of true challenges for more advanced ability visitors, it's definitely a beginner-orientated resort and the ski schools and childcare services are generally well rated. The attractive, sheltered forested setting, non-extreme mid-winter temperatures, and child-friendly purpose-built facilities also mean that Pamporovo is widely regarded as Bulgaria's best ski resort for families and is best suited to budget-conscious couples or groups of improving novices and early intermediates.
Pamporovo frequently tops the charts for the lowest cost ski holiday packages and, when snow conditions are good, it's hard to beat in providing great value for money.
Pamporovo - Ski Map & Pistes:
Pamporovo's compact and relatively limited ski area - just 37km of pistes - cuts through the north-facing pine-forested slopes of Snezhanka peak (aka Snejanka), which is crowned with a huge observation tower and transmitter mast which gives the resort its instantly recognisable skyline.
The ski area Mechi Chal, Chepelare is a part of the ski area of Pamporovo, and the resort's full name is Pamporovo-Mechi Chal. Both ski areas are connected by frequent shuttle buses
Most of the learner-friendly pistes are accurately graded green and blue, with a few red runs to provide something for more confident improvers to have a crack at, and there's always the black run, The Wall, if you're feeling really brave. The area has a fair number of slope-side snack bars and restaurants to cater for frequent rest breaks and relaxing lunches on often sunny terraces.
There are no home-run pistes, although a green run does descend to the principal base-area access point at Ski Station One, about five minutes free shuttle-bus ride away from most of the resort's hotels.
Another recent, more substantial, expansion of the ski area is the chairlift link to the Stoikite area on the western flank of the mountain, serving an additional two blue pistes that have short red-graded sections. A basic snowpark with rails and jumps is now also set to be a permanent feature just above the main mid-altitude Studenets area.
None of Pamporovo's pistes are particularly long, less than 4 km at best, but they're perfectly adequate for most first-timers and rusty returnees. The modest altitude and the southern latitude does mean that snow conditions are unpredictable, particularly at the beginning of the season, but up to 75 percent of the slopes are equipped with snowmaking cannons and the latter half of the winter season usually sees sufficient snowfalls to keep the resort running very successfully.
Pamporovo - Off-Piste, Backcountry & Ski Touring:
You can ski through the plentiful trees, but that's pretty much it. This is not a resort known for its freeride.
Pamporovo - Restaurants, Bars & The Town:
Away from the slopes, there's not a lot to do in the evenings other than eat, drink and be merry, in and around the in-house restaurants and bars of Pamporovo's main hotel complexes, the Perelik and the Murgavets being the largest and liveliest; there's also a number of venues to choose from in the central part of the resort if you want to map out a bar crawl, rounded off with a couple of late-closing nightclubs back at the main hotels.
Food and drink prices are generally very reasonable, which no doubt helps further boost the resort's good ratings for après ski enjoyment.
Alternative activities include tenpin bowling, swimming pools and fitness facilities at various hotels, skating on a small natural ice rink, 'snow-tubing' (riding large inflatable rings down a slope), snowmobile excursions, and horse-drawn sleigh/carriage rides. Floodlit night-skiing is also possible some evenings.
Pamporovo - Ski Hire:
Ski hire in Pamporovo is cheap. Try the Skiset shop or book one of the ski hire, ski school and lift pass packages through your tour operator or hotel.
Pamporovo - Ski School:
There are around a dozen qualified ski schools in Pamporovo. Most of the ski schools are located in the main ski centres - Ski Center 2 Malina and ski center Studenets. These include the Ski School Aspen -Pamporovo, which also does ski hire, Pamporovo Ski School, Ski School Steve and Spree Ski School.
Sofia (4hrs)
