'Rila Mountains' Important Bird Area

The 'Rila Mountains' Important Bird Area (IBA) covers a total area of 143,733.01 hectares and includes not only the 'Rila' National Park, but also the 'Rila Monastery' Nature Park and 'Rilomanistirska Gora' Nature Reserve, as well as some immediately adjoining unprotected land. As a whole, it encompasses more than 50% of the the Rila Mountains.

Some 130 species of birds have been recorded breeding in the 'Rila Mountains' Important Bird Area, of which 41 species are designated by BirdLife International as being of European conservation concern (SPEC). These include: 1 species of bird classified as SPEC 1 (species of global conservation concern), 14 species of bird classified as SPEC 2 (species with global populations concentrated in Europe and having an unfavourable conservation status in Europe) and 26 species of birds classified as SPEC 3 (species with global populations concentrated outside Europe but having an unfavourable conservation status in Europe).

'Rila' National Park: New National Park Director

A new director has been selected for the 'Rila' National Park. The new national park director for the 'Rila' National Park will be Krasimir Andonov.

It will be very interesting to see how he is going to deal with all the threats that currently face the 'Rila' National Park from proposed expansion and illegal encroachments by various ski zone projects.

'Central Balkan' National Park

Founded in 1991, the 'Central Balkan' National Park is the second largest protected territory in Bulgaria with an area of 71,669.5 hectares. It is located in the highest part of the Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains), covering an 85 kilometre long stretch of the main ridge. About 39% of the 'Central Balkan' National Park comprises mountain pastures, meadows and rock outcrops. The remaining 61% of the 'Central Balkan' National Park is forested, Broad-leaved species dominate, in particular European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) which accounts for about 70% of the forested area. The most common coniferous species is Norway Spruce (Picea abies).

There are nine nature reserves within the 'Central Balkan' National Park, accounting for about 28% of its total area:

• 'Boatin' Nature Reserve (1,597.2 hectares)


• 'Tsarichina' Nature Reserve (3,418.7 hectares)


• 'Kozya Stena' Nature Reserve (904.3 hectares)


• 'Steneto' Nature Reserve (3,578.8 hectares)


• 'Stara Reka' Nature Reserve (1 974.7 hectares)


• 'Dzhendema' Nature Reserve (4,220.2 hectares)


• 'Severen Dzhendem' Nature Reserve (1,610 hectares)


• 'Peeshtite Skali' Nature Reserve (1,465.7 hectares)


• 'Sokolna' Nature Reserve (1,250 hectares)

The 'Boatin' Nature Reserve, 'Tsarichina' Nature Reserve, 'Steneto' Nature Reserve and 'Dzhendema' Nature Reserve have all been designated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.

The flora of the 'Central Balkan' National Park is extremely rich, some 1900 species and sub-species of higher plants which represents about half the Bulgarian flora. These include 10 local endemics (found nowhere else in the world), 10 Bulgarian endemics (known only from Bulgaria) and 67 Balkan endemics (growing only on the Balkan Peninsula).

The 'Central Balkan' National Park also has an extremely varied fauna. The invertebrate fauna is still only partly studied, but already over 2300 species and subspecies have been recorded. These include 9 species of dragonfly (Odonata) and many interesting butterflies (Lepidoptera).

The vertebrate fauna of the 'Central Balkan' National Park has been studied in much greater detail, and includes 6 species of fish, 8 species of amphibians and 14 species of reptiles. Some 224 species of birds have been recorded within the national park itself, of which 123 species have been recorded as breeding. This number increases to 151 nesting species if one includes the species that have been recorded breeding in adjacent areas and which fall within the 'Central Balkan' Important Bird Area (IBA). Some 59 species of mammals have been recorded in the 'Central Balkan' National Park. These include 18 species of bats, 25 species of small mammals (insectivores and rodents), and 16 species of large mammals, of which 12 species are carnivores including brown bear, wolf, jackal and even a record of a lynx.

'Pirin' National Park

The origins of the 'Pirin' National Park go back to 1962, but during the ensuing years its boundaries have been enlarged and altered several times. Today the 'Pirin' National Park occupies a total area of 40,332.4 hectares, and covers about 15% of the Pirin Mountains. About 43% of the 'Pirin' National Park comprises open terrain, in the form of mountain pastures and meadows, as well as rocky peaks, ridges and screes. The remaining 57% of the national park is forested, in particular by extensive areas of Dwarf Mountain Pine (Pinus mugo), Macedonian Pine (Pinus peuce), Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies).

There are two nature reserves within the 'Pirin' National Park, accounting for about 14.9% of its total area:

'Bayuvi Dupki - Dzhindzhiritsa' Nature Reserve (2,873 hectares)

'Yulen' Nature Reserve (3,156.2 hectares)

The 'Bayuvi Dupki - Dzhindzhiritsa' Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, whilst the 'Pirin' National Park as a whole was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

The flora of the 'Pirin' National Park is very rich, some 1315 species of higher plants which represents about one third of the total number of species found within Bulgaria. These include 18 local Pirin endemics (found nowhere else in the world), 17 Bulgarian endemics (known only from Bulgaria) and 86 Balkan endemics (growing only on the Balkan Peninsula).

The 'Pirin' National Park also has an extremely diverse and interesting fauna. The invertebrate fauna is still only partly studied, but already over 2000 species have been found. These include 9 species of dragonfly (Odonata) and many interesting butterflies (Lepidoptera).

The vertebrate fauna of the 'Pirin' National Park has been studied in much greater detail, and includes 6 species of fish, 8 species of amphibians and 11 species of reptiles. During recent studies, some 159 species of birds have been found within the national park itself, of which 110 species have been recorded as breeding. This number increases to 129 nesting species if one includes the species that have been recorded breeding in adjacent areas and which fall within the 'Pirin' Important Bird Area (IBA). Some 45 species of mammals have been recorded in the 'Pirin' National Park. These include 16 species of bats, 16 species of small mammals (insectivores and rodents), and 13 species of large mammals, of which 9 species are carnivores including brown bear and wolf.

'Rila' National Park

Covering an area of 81,046 hectares, the 'Rila' National Park is Bulgaria’s largest national park. It was established in 1992 and covers about 30% of the Rila Mountains. About one third of the 'Rila' National Park comprises open terrain, in the form of rocky peaks and ridges, or high mountain pastures and meadows. The remaining two thirds of the national park are forested, in particular extensive coniferous forests dominated by Norway Spruce (Picea abies), Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Macedonian Pine (Pinus peuce).

There are four nature reserves within the 'Rila' National Park, accounting for about 20% of its total area:

• 'Parangalitsa' Nature Reserve (1,509 hectares)


• 'Skakavitsa' Nature Reserve (70.8 hectares)


• 'Ibar' Nature Reserve (2,248.6 hectares)


• 'Central Rila' Nature Reserve (12,393.7 hectares)

The 'Parangalitsa' Reserve and part of the 'Central Rila' Reserve are UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.

The flora of the 'Rila' National Park is exceptionally rich, some 1400 species of higher plants which represents nearly 40% of the total number of species found within Bulgaria. These include 3 local Rila endemics (found nowhere else in the world), 18 Bulgarian endemics (known only from Bulgaria) and 36 Balkan endemics (growing only on the Balkan Peninsula).

The 'Rila' National Park also has an extremely diverse and interesting fauna. The invertebrate fauna is still only partly studied, but already almost 3000 species have been found, and the final total is estimated to be around 7000 species. These include several interesting species of dragonfly (Odonata) and butterflies (Lepidoptera).

The vertebrate fauna of the 'Rila' National Park has been studied in more detail, and includes 12 species of fish, 10 species of amphibians and 10 species of reptiles. Some 99 species of birds have been recorded breeding within the national park itself, but this number increases to 130 species if one includes the species that have been recorded breeding in adjacent areas and which fall within the 'Rila' Important Bird Area (IBA). Some 49 species of mammals have been recorded in the 'Rila' National Park. These include 10 species of bats, 23 species of small mammals (insectivores and rodents), and 16 species of large mammals, of which 11 species are carnivores including brown bear and wolf.

Bulgaria's National Parks

Bulgaria has a long tradition of nature conservation. Its first protected area, the 'Silkosiya' Nature Reserve was established in the Strandzha Mountains in 1931. Three years later, in 1934, a 'People's Park' was established on the Vitosha Mountains, becoming the first such “national nature park” to be established on the Balkan Peninsula. Today, Bulgaria’s protected areas encompass approximately 4.3% of the country’s territory, and comprise 90 nature reserves, 3 national parks, 11 nature parks, 457 natural landmarks, and 175 protected localities.
Bulgaria's three National Parks (IUCN Category II) are:

• 'Pirin' National Park (40, 332.4 hectares)


• 'Rila' National Park (81,046 hectares)


• 'Central Balkan' National Park (71,669.5 hectares)

This blog is dedicated to describing the wonderful hiking and wildlife watching opportunities in Bulgaria's national parks, and to promoting the protection and conservation of what are outstanding mountain regions rich in an exceptional flora and fauna.

Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains)

The Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains) cover a total area of 11,600 square kilometres, almost one tenth of Bulgaria’s total land mass, and stretch right across the country from the Serbian border in the west to the Black Sea in the east. As a whole, the range comprises a large number of individual, yet closely associated massifs. However, a distinct main ridge can be delineated, which stretches for 530 kilometres from the Belogradchik Pass to Cape Emine, with an average width of between 15 and 50 kilometres. Although the average altitude of the range is only 722 metres, twenty-nine of its peaks top 2000 metres.

The name Stara Planina literally means 'Old Mountains', yet despite this title, they are in geological terms, the youngest mountain range in Bulgaria. The Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains) are on one of the so-called “new fold-mountains” that were uplifted as part of the Alpine-Himalayan system during the Tertiary period. The ancient core of the range mainly consists of Palaeozoic crystalline schists, often interspersed with granites. However, it is only in higher parts of the Western Stara Planina (Western Balkans) and Central Stara Planina (Central Balkans) that these break through to the surface. Elsewhere they have been outflanked by younger Mesozoic rocks, predominantly limestones, sandstones and marls. Due to their comparatively modest altitude, the Stara Planina (Central Balkans) were not subject to the effects of galciation during the Quaternary period, and thus lack many of the most striking features associated with typical alpine terrain. Instead, in many places, the range has been gradually eroded into a broad, rolling ridge of rounded summits and shallow saddles.