Rutas de Montes Balcanes

  The Balkan Range cuts right across the country - from the border with Serbia to the Black Sea coast, a forbidding mountain known to the Bulgarians as Stara Planina or the "Old Mountains". The 550km-long granite Balkan Range has become emblematic of Bulgaria - a birthplace of the Bulgarian nation-state and a place where Bulgarian traditions and culture have been preserved during the Ottoman occupation. It is also a climatic barrier between north and south Bulgaria with more snowfalls on its northern slopes than on the southern. Average temperature around Mount Botev, the highest peak (2376m), are -8.9C in January, and 7.6C in July. Its 29 peaks above 2000m, some of which definitely Alpine, are of great interest to tourists and climbers. The numerous alpine formations in the western part of the mountain - caves, rocks, and gorges, attract extreme climbers and mountaineers. The Central Balkan range is the highest with the most tourist chalets and high-mountain huts. Hundreds of tracks have been marked, most of them leading to important historic and cultural places. A landmark is the National Park "Central Balkan" with 10 biosphere reserves under the protection of UNESCO. The Central Balkan National Park, located between the Valley of the Roses and the Danubian plain is nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Range. Its rounded ridges and high peaks alternate with deep canyons, vertical rock faces and caves. It is the home to the largest number of high mountain waterfalls, among which the highest in Bulgaria - Raiskoto Praskalo waterfall , and the location of the deepest precipice cave in the country. The caves and canyons, the rock faces and cliffs are inhabited by endangered species of bats, birds, and a variety of other wildlife, as well as various rare and beautiful plants many of which native to these mountains.