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Thursday, 08 November 2007 |
Pamporovo is the second mountain winter resort in the country after Borovets. It is located 1650 m above sea level in the Perelik range (Bukova Planina) of the Western Rhodopes in one of the most beautiful places of the Orpheus mountain. It received its name from the convoys of mules of the Raicho Belev, a man from the town of Smolyan, which followed one another as the wagons of a train (from the Turkish word for “train” - pampor) carrying goods. A man from Chepelare - Chichovski - built the first tourist hostel here in 1933 thus establishing the present resort.
The specific combination of natural conditions makes the resort beautiful in summer and in winter alike - the large spruce forests, picturesque meadows, strange rocky forms (the Orpheus rocks and others), beautiful high peaks – Mt. Snezhanka (1925 m), Mt. Murgavets (1858 m), Mt. Orleto and others. The mountain where Pamporovo is located is composed of marble that drains the water and dries the whole region. The hill has a hunchbacked form and is very airy so the air is always fresh.
Due to the influence of the Mediterranean climate the temperatures in the resort have small daily variations. The surrounding high peaks keep it from the winds and in winter preserve the snow cover on the northern slopes of the Snezhanka and Murgavets peaks. The area is abundant in natural slopes where many ski-slopes have been built with different category of difficulty, served by sophisticated technical equipment. The resort offers 5 chair lifts, 13 tow-lifts and 17 500 metres of alpine ski-tracks.
Pamorovo is 16 kilometres from Smolyan, 12 km from Chepelare, 35 kilometres from Devin, 83 km from Plovdiv and 240 km from Sofia. There is a regular bus line connecting it to these cities. The high transmission tower on Mt. Snezhanka helps the location of the resort to be esily indetified from far away (in a clear day). At the tower there ia a panorama coffee-bar and it is reached by a chair-lift. Pamporovo offers many accomodation opportunities for tourists. The only 5-star mountain hotel on the Balkans – Pamporovo Hotel is located in front of the church “Sv. Uspenie Bogorodichno”. The 3-star hotels offer great comfort – Perelik Hotel, Arfa Hotel, Murgavets Hotel and Prespa Hotel. The following are the 2-star hotels: Euridika, Rozhen, Orpheus, Panorama, Snezhanka. The one-star hotels are Belite Kashti, Bor, Duke’s Place, Maistor Manol, Markoni, Gorski Rai. A pleasant atmosphere is also offered in the Malina cottage village. Visitors who can not afford above hotels can also find lodging in the Studenets Chalet and the Smolyanski Ezera Chalet (located near one of the beautiful lakes between Smolyan and Pamporovo that could be reached from Mt. Snezhanka by the chair-lift).
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