climatic zone. Surprisingly, the influence of the Black Sea on Bulgaria’s overall climate is very limited, and really only has an impact on a narrow coastal strip.
In northern parts of Bulgaria, where a moderate continental climate predominates, the wettest months are May and June, and the driest is February, while in the south, the Mediterranean influence means maximum precipitation tends to be in November and December, and minimum in August and September.
In the lowlands of northern Bulgaria, precipitation regularly falls as snow between December and March, while along the Black Sea coast and the lowlands of southern Bulgaria this tends to be limited to January and February. However, snowfall in these lowland regions usually only results in intermittent cover, because the temperature frequently rises above zero. In the mountains, of course, the situation is very different, and above 2000m snow can last between four and nine months depending on altitude.
The average annual temperature in Bulgaria is between 10°C and 14°C. In the lowlands, January tends to be the coldest month with an average temperature in northern Bulgaria of -1.4°C to -2°C, and in the south between 0°C to 2°C. In the mountains it varies from -2°C to -10°C depending on altitude. Highest average temperatures are in July or August, reaching 21°C to 24°C degrees in the lowlands, but dropping from 16°C to 5°C in the mountains as the altitude increases. Interestingly, however, the lowest temperatures ever recorded in Bulgaria have not been high up in the mountains, but actually in lower-lying basins, which in winter frequently experience dramatic temperature inversions.
In general, from the point of view of walkers, Bulgaria’s climatic peculiarities make weather conditions in the mountains very pleasant during summer. Temperatures rarely rise too high to become uncomfortable for walking, and rain, when it falls, tends to be in the form of a short sharp downpour, which often quickly gives away to another prolonged spell of fine dry weather.
In the high mountains, June and July are wonderfully fresh and green, with the alpine flowers at their best, though you may find late-lying snow patches a hindrance on some of the highest peaks and passes, particularly their shaded northern flanks. August and September offer long days and stable sunny weather, ideal for major hikes, while October tends to be great for photography, the air crisp and clear, the deciduous forests turning gold, and perhaps a dusting of early snow on the highest tops to add some extra contrast.
Biodiversity
Located as it is, in the far southeastern corner of Europe, Bulgaria straddles the boundaries between the Central European forest, Eurasian steppe and Mediterranean bio-geographic zones, and is thus one of the most important countries on the continent in terms of its biodiversity.
Bulgaria is blessed with a unique natural heritage and an amazing variety of landscapes and eco-systems. To the east lies the Black Sea, with its rocky capes, sandy beaches and sheltered bays, while to the north is the Danube, fringed by lakes and marshes, and bordered by an ever-alternating succession of low hills, elevated plateaus and broad steppe-like plains. But it is the majestic mountains that dominate Bulgaria, forming the physical heartland of the country. There you will find rugged alpine peaks and ridges with deep caves and precipitous gorges, surrounded by an extensive cloak of sub-alpine pastures, scrubs and peat-bogs. These then give way to ancient coniferous and beech forests, and lower still a zone of oak and hornbeam, as well as lush flower-filled meadows that surround small rural settlements where the local people still live a traditional pastoral life.
Because of its location, varied climate, relief and geological structure, Bulgaria has an outstandingly rich flora, with more than 3900 species of higher plants, made up of Central European, Carpathian, Mediterranean and Pontic species, as well as many unique Balkan and Bulgarian endemics which constitute about eight per cent of Bulgaria’s flora. There are also some 52 species of ferns, 4000 species of algae, 670 species of moss and 600 species of lichen.
The fauna too is extremely interesting and diverse, a meeting place for European and Asiatic species, including 100 of mammal, of which 33 are bats, 421 of bird, 207 of fish, some 37 of reptile, 18 of amphibian, and an estimated 27,000 species of invertebrate, which includes over 200 species of butterfly and 68 species of dragonfly.
Sokolna Reserve information boards (Walk 4)
Protected Territories
Bulgaria has a long tradition of nature conservation. Its first protected area, the Silkosiya Reserve was created 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’ on the Balkan Peninsula. Today, Bulgaria’s protected areas encompass approximately 4.3 per cent of the country’s territory, and include 90 nature reserves, 10 nature parks and three national parks. It is these three national parks – Pirin, Rila and Central Balkan – that are the focus of this guidebook, for they not only represent some of the finest wilderness regions in Europe, they are also conveniently accessible, being crisscrossed with a well-marked and well-maintained network of hiking trails.
History
Situated at the edge of Europe, Bulgaria has long been an important eastern gateway to the continent, and a melting pot for a range of different peoples and cultures, all of whom have left their mark on the country, and helped to shape its development and rich historical legacy.
The earliest traces of human life on Bulgarian territory date back to Palaeolithic (Stone Age) times, and archaeologists from the Bulgarian Academy of Science are currently investigating a cave encampment in northwestern Bulgaria, which has been dated to between 1.6 million and 1.4 million years ago. This has led to claims that the initial ‘conquest’ of the European continent by humans was through what are today Bulgarian lands. Later, during the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Eneolithic (Stone-Copper Age) periods, people began to settle in the plains, cultivating the fertile soil and domesticating livestock.
By the Middle Bronze Age, about 2000BC, a distinct people, known as the Thracians, had become established. An amalgamation of independent tribes rather than a united kingdom, they were not only farmers and shepherds, but also accomplished craftsmen, producing what are today world-renowned golden treasures. However, during the fourth century BC, Philip II of Macedon temporarily over-ran the region, and after another brief spell of independence, the Thracian tribes were finally subjugated by the Romans in the first century AD. Eventually, during the fourth century, and after the separation of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the territory of present day Bulgaria fell under Byzantine control.
During the sixth century the Slavic tribes started to penetrate into the region and, despite the efforts of the Byzantine Empire to prevent them, by the beginning of the seventh century the region had become settled with a new Slavic population, which quickly merged with and assimilated what remained of the original Thracian inhabitants. The Slavs were then followed by new invaders, the Bulgars, a Turkic people from Central Asia who by 681 had pushed south of the Danube and established the First Bulgarian Kingdom (681–1018) under the leadership of Khan Asparuh (681–700).
Bulgaria’s golden age
A couple of centuries later, during the reign of Tsar Boris I (852–899), Christianity was officially adopted as the state religion, and a new Slavonic alphabet was created, enabling Bulgaria to become the leading centre of Slavonic literature and culture. This period of development reached its zenith in the reign of Tsar Simeon I (893–927), the so-called ‘golden age’ of both Bulgarian culture and territorial expansion.
A period of decline then set in, until finally in 1018 Byzantium managed to achieve its long-dreamed-of goal, the re-annexation of Bulgaria. This lasted for just over 150 years, until, following an uprising led by the brothers Petar and Asen, Byzantine control was overthrown,
