Borovets

Most people come here on packages and stay in big hotels with their own bars, restaurants and shops, but there is also a large selection of quirkier and lively small bars, shops and eating places. Nevertheless, the resort’s beautiful woodland setting gives it a real degree of Alpine charm.

Outside the main base at the Hotel Rila is the beginners area, conveniently located on gentle slopes right outside all of the main facilities. From here you can then go in two directions – either up the old gondola towards the summit, or on the Sitnyakovo quad chairlift. The latter is home to some gentle cruising, as well as the resort’s night skiing offering.

More confident skiers and boarders will want to catch the gondola towards the summit, where the high altitude Markudjik ski area offers snowsure slopes and spectacular views over the Bulgarian mountains. The trickiest runs are in the Yastrebetz sector, where a high speed quad serves an excellent pod of red runs that drop 600 vertical metres each time. There is some decent off piste terrain high up, but thick trees restrict a lot of the access off the sides of the slopes.