• Old Forests Pirin is a realm of steep-flanked peaks and ridges soaring to 9,564 feet (2,915 meters), alpine meadows, dozens of glacial lakes, waterfalls, and evergreen stands. Forests cover more than half the park and include the endemic Macedonian pine. Most of these trees are about 140 years old but some individuals have survived for more than 500 years. One famous tree, the Baykuchevata Macedonian pine, is approximately 1,350 years old.
• Ice Age Reminders After thousands of years, the work of glaciers remains evident in Pirin National Park. More than 70 glacial lakes exist, echoes of the last ice age. The carving power of ice is also visible in the deep valleys and cirques that were scoured out of mountainous limestone and granite.
• Rare Species This Balkan mountain range, near the shores of the Aegean, is an unusual ecological refuge for hundreds of rare species and nearly three dozen endemic species—including flora held over from the Balkan Pleistocene that subsequently found refuge on the mountains.
• Animal Life In this relatively isolated locale large animals still roam, including brown bears, jackals, gray wolves, wild boars, deer, and chamois. The 159 recorded bird species here, including eagles, hawks, owls, grouse, and woodpeckers, are a third of all those known in Bulgaria.
• Development Threats Ongoing and often illegal development threatens to compromise the park’s protected nature and has drawn considerable protest both within Bulgaria and beyond its borders.
How to Get There
Drivers can reach the park from the Mesta Valley in the north and the Struma Valley in the south. Bansko, about three hours by car or bus from Sofia, is home to the park’s information center. However, the most interesting way to arrive in Pirin National Park is by rail. When weather permits, trains run from Septemvri to Bansko along a scenic, narrow-gauge mountain track.
When to Visit
Snow covers the mountains for half the year or more, but winter finds the town of Bansko bustling with skiers. Most of the park experiences cool and short summers, particularly in the north and at elevation, though the more southern foothills enjoy sub-Mediterranean climate.
How to Visit
Pirin is an outdoor park and its mountains beg to be explored. Hiking, biking, and climbing are popular activities; you can also get a look deep inside Pirin on a caving trip. Anglers enjoy fine fishing in park waters. Huts and chalets are available inside the park for overnight stays.
The Musala Lakes are located in the Rila Mountains beneath Mount Musala (2925 meters), the Balkan’s highest peak.
The Musala Lakes are part of Rila National Park, declared a protected area on February 24, 1992. In the Rila Range there are more than 120 permanent glacial lakes and roughly 30 that are seasonal.
Musala’s Seven Lakes are situated on four cirque terraces. The highest of these is Icy Lake (Ledeno Ezero), which as its name implies is fed by glacier melt. The whole year round this lake is covered with ice that only partly thaws for four months of the year, from July to November. To the south of this lake rises the northern ascent to Musala peak. Glacier Lake is the deepest of the seven Musala lakes. Its water flows into the second and third lakes beneath it on the second cirque terrace. The third Musala lake, Alekovo, is considered by tourists to be the most beautiful of the seven. There is only one lake on the third cirque terrace, beneath Irechek Peak (2,852 meters). This is Lake Karakeshevo, the fifth of Musala’s seven. Near this lake on the bank facing the sixth lake stands the Musala Shelter. Somewhat farther down is the seventh lake. The sixth and seventh Musala lakes feed the river Bistritsa.
Pirin National Park, Bulgaria
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/parks/pirin-bulgaria/
Did You Know?
• Old Forests Pirin is a realm of steep-flanked peaks and ridges soaring to 9,564 feet (2,915 meters), alpine meadows, dozens of glacial lakes, waterfalls, and evergreen stands. Forests cover more than half the park and include the endemic Macedonian pine. Most of these trees are about 140 years old but some individuals have survived for more than 500 years. One famous tree, the Baykuchevata Macedonian pine, is approximately 1,350 years old.
• Ice Age Reminders After thousands of years, the work of glaciers remains evident in Pirin National Park. More than 70 glacial lakes exist, echoes of the last ice age. The carving power of ice is also visible in the deep valleys and cirques that were scoured out of mountainous limestone and granite.
• Rare Species This Balkan mountain range, near the shores of the Aegean, is an unusual ecological refuge for hundreds of rare species and nearly three dozen endemic species—including flora held over from the Balkan Pleistocene that subsequently found refuge on the mountains.
• Animal Life In this relatively isolated locale large animals still roam, including brown bears, jackals, gray wolves, wild boars, deer, and chamois. The 159 recorded bird species here, including eagles, hawks, owls, grouse, and woodpeckers, are a third of all those known in Bulgaria.
• Development Threats Ongoing and often illegal development threatens to compromise the park’s protected nature and has drawn considerable protest both within Bulgaria and beyond its borders.
How to Get There
Drivers can reach the park from the Mesta Valley in the north and the Struma Valley in the south. Bansko, about three hours by car or bus from Sofia, is home to the park’s information center. However, the most interesting way to arrive in Pirin National Park is by rail. When weather permits, trains run from Septemvri to Bansko along a scenic, narrow-gauge mountain track.
When to Visit
Snow covers the mountains for half the year or more, but winter finds the town of Bansko bustling with skiers. Most of the park experiences cool and short summers, particularly in the north and at elevation, though the more southern foothills enjoy sub-Mediterranean climate.
How to Visit
Pirin is an outdoor park and its mountains beg to be explored. Hiking, biking, and climbing are popular activities; you can also get a look deep inside Pirin on a caving trip. Anglers enjoy fine fishing in park waters. Huts and chalets are available inside the park for overnight stays.
世界の名峰 グレートサミッツ
ブルガリア 魅惑の山旅 バルカンの聖山めざして
http://www.nhk-g.co.jp/program/documentary/great_sumits/
世界それぞれの地域を代表してそびえる名峰“グレートサミッツ”、それは人知を越えた自然が生み出した大いなる造形です。見る者が心を動かされる憧れの名峰を訪ね、その山をよく知るガイドに導かれて頂上をめざします。まるで自らが登っているような臨場感ある景色やスケール感あふれる空撮など、絶景映像満載の番組です。
みどころ
東ヨーロッパの知られざる国ブルガリア、その神秘のベールに包まれた世界遺産の山々を、エキゾチックな雰囲気の女性ガイドに導かれて巡る魅惑の旅。
「山に行くと心が自由になる」というガイドのイリアナさん(34)、お奨めは、“ブルガリアの宝”とも呼ばれる大自然や伝統文化が守られてきた南部の山岳地帯だ。
まず、狭軌の山岳鉄道に乗りこみ、世界遺産ピリン国立公園のトレッキングに出発、大理石の山・ヴィフレン(2,915m)を目指す。
山で開かれていた音楽祭では、ヤギの皮で出来たガイーダと呼ばれるバグパイプの演奏やブルガリアン・ヴォイスと呼ばれる村人のコーラスを楽しむ。その後、東欧随一の美しさを誇る神秘の7つの湖や世界文化遺産リラ修道院などを巡り、ブルガリアの抵抗の歴史を知り、民族が誇る山岳文化に触れる。さらに、幻の真珠を求めて洞窟を探検、鍾乳洞に奇岩が連続するミラクルワールドを体感する。旅の締めくくりに、バルカン半島の最高峰ムサラをめざす。垂直の岩壁にロッククライミングで挑むが、転落するなど困難の連続、果たして、聖なる山の頂に辿り着けるのか・・・
ブルガリアの素朴で暖かい山の魅力を、笑顔が魅力的な女性ガイドの案内で紹介しながら、千年以上もの間、人々が脈々と受け継いできた民族の伝統や誇りを感じていく。
The Musala Lakes
http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/373/Musalenski_ezera
The Musala Lakes are located in the Rila Mountains beneath Mount Musala (2925 meters), the Balkan’s highest peak.
The Musala Lakes are part of Rila National Park, declared a protected area on February 24, 1992. In the Rila Range there are more than 120 permanent glacial lakes and roughly 30 that are seasonal.
Musala’s Seven Lakes are situated on four cirque terraces. The highest of these is Icy Lake (Ledeno Ezero), which as its name implies is fed by glacier melt. The whole year round this lake is covered with ice that only partly thaws for four months of the year, from July to November. To the south of this lake rises the northern ascent to Musala peak. Glacier Lake is the deepest of the seven Musala lakes. Its water flows into the second and third lakes beneath it on the second cirque terrace. The third Musala lake, Alekovo, is considered by tourists to be the most beautiful of the seven. There is only one lake on the third cirque terrace, beneath Irechek Peak (2,852 meters). This is Lake Karakeshevo, the fifth of Musala’s seven. Near this lake on the bank facing the sixth lake stands the Musala Shelter. Somewhat farther down is the seventh lake. The sixth and seventh Musala lakes feed the river Bistritsa.