Eagle Rock Movie

7 Mins 43 Secs

Borovets Movie

14 mins 2 sec
Video provided by www.snow.tv

Weather

History

Borovets is the oldest Bulgarian winter resort with a history that dates back to 1896. Borovets was originally established at the end of the 19th Century as a hunting place for the Bulgarian Kings, Borovets gradually developed into a modern ski resort of budget and luxury hotels, haute-cuisine restaurants and seedy bars and an average network of ski runs and lifts along the slopes of the Rila Mountains, providing excellent opportunities for a whole range of winter sports. The resort has twice hosted World Cup Alpine Skiing rounds (1981 and 1984), while the Biathlon track is one of the best in the world.

Winter Sports

The ski resort sits at an altitude of 1350m. 58km of marked pistes cover the generally north facing slopes up to an altitude of 2560m, with many runs terminating near the village centre allowing skiers to ski almost to their hotel door. The longest run is a gentle 12km return to the resort along the maintenance road.

Downhill Skiing

Borovets Ski Slopes

Ski Run	Difficulty	Length (m)	Inclination (m)
Sitnyakovo ski track	Green	6000	0
Sitnyakovo 1a	Blue	5800	400
Martinovi Baraki 5	Green	5000	0
Sitnyakovo 1b	Red	4000	230
Sitnyakovo 2	Red	4000	250
Yastrebets 1	Black	2300	860
Yastrebets 2	Red	3000	650
Yastrebets 3	Red	2350	617
Markujik 2a	Red	1300	280
Martinovi Baraki 3	Red	1260	320
Markujik 3	Red	1240	390
Martinovi Baraki 4	Black	1240	302
Markujik 1	Red	1220	220
Martinovi Baraki 1	Red	1160	340
Martinovi Baraki 2	Red	1160	220
Lavinata	Black	830	0
Yastrebets	Black	800	0
Markujik	Green	600	0
Borovets	Cross Country	0	0

Lifts

All ski lifts are open 9.00 am to 4.30 pm. Each lift closes for technical checks and maintenance for half a day each week and for 1 full day each month, see local signs for dates and times for each lift.

Borovets Lifts

Ski Run / Lift	Type	Length (m)	Elevation (m)
Borovets,Yastrebets 1	Gondola	4827	1046
Yastrebets, Borovets	4 seat	2050	609
Sitnyakovo 1a, Borovets	4 seat	1902	516
Martinovi Baraki 1, Borovets	4 seat	1209	313
Markujik 2a	4 seat	1086	308
Markujik 3	Drag	1031	366
Markujik 1	Drag	903	223
Markujik 0 - beginners piste	Drag	500	42
Martinovi Baraki 3	Drag	200	50
Martinovi Baraki 2	Drag	180	33

The lift infrastructure of the resort is very well developed by drag lifts, baby tows, seat chain lifts, plus a gondola lift. 1 six-seat Gondola lift, 2 High Speed Quad Chair lifts, 1 Fixed Grip Quad Chair lift, 10 Surface ski lifts and 9 tow lifts. As for the 6 persons gondola lift, it takes you to the Yastrebets peak on 2363 m above sea level. The difference in altitude is approx. 1046m and length of route is 4827 m. The gondola lift has a capacity of 1200 persons per hour. The journey takes around 20 minutes. The total capacity of all tow lifts of Borovets is 8150 persons per hour.

A recently completed 200-meter carpet lift takes the skiers from ski center Markudjik to the upper station of the gondola lift "Yastrebetz"; and the widened 10 km long Musala Pathway provides an easy way to return to the resort.

Night skiing

For night skiing there is a special lift pass that has to be bought separately at the kiosks on the pistes. It is valid from 5 pm till 10 pm.

Cross-country skiing

35 km of cross country trails are designed according to the requirements of FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski), at minimum width of 6 m. The resort also offers biathlon facilities for training and competitions.

Other Activities

Ski-doo

2 person ski-doos are available for local rent in the resort. Tourists can be guided through the local forests by an instructor.

Ski jumping

Every Wednesday the local ski and snowboarding instructors put on a Ski Jumping show on the slopes in front of the Hotel Rila. The show is free for all that attended ski school during the week but there is a charge for those who have not attended ski school. There are, however, many bars in the local area where you can sit and enjoy a drink whilst watching the show for free.

Après Ski

Borovets is full of bars, cafes, night clubs, and discos. The night life is excellent at this resort (Buzz bar, Mamacitas, Bonkers disco, etc). This resort is known as the most interesting ski centre regarding party time. Been catering for foreign tourists for many years now, the staff are known to be friendly and professional. Most of the places are open until the early morning, and offer good prices and special 'happy hour' discounts.

Music played is mostly international dance music. Very often special shows are presented at the clubs. There restaurants and taverns with Bulgarian national folk music and 'horo' dancing, which some people find very interesting.