Vihren, at 2,914 metres the highest peak of the Pirin mountains and the third highest in the Balkans, rises above the town of Bansko in south-western Bulgaria in a sharp, pale pyramid of marble. The Pirin National Park protects the high country around it, a landscape of granite and marble peaks, glacial cirques, more than a hundred lakes and ancient forests of pine and fir, and it was listed by UNESCO in 1983.
The park is a paradise for hikers, with trails leading to the high lakes and summits, and huts offering simple accommodation. The forests are home to bears, wolves, chamois and many birds, and the flora includes rare and endemic plants such as the edelweiss and the Pirin poppy. Near the Vihren hut, the Baikushev pine, a Bosnian pine said to be over 1,300 years old, is one of the oldest trees in Bulgaria.
For riders, the road from Bansko up to the Vihren hut is a great climb: a narrow road winding through the forest into the high mountains, steep in places, with views of the peaks as you emerge from the trees. The surface has been patchy over the years, so take it steadily. Parking at the top allows you to walk to the lakes or up toward Vihren. The road is closed in winter, when snow covers the mountains and Bansko becomes a busy ski resort.
Down in the valley, the Razlog basin is surrounded by the Pirin, Rila and Rhodope mountains, and the roads through it offer superb riding: south along the Mesta river toward Gotse Delchev, east over the passes into the Rhodopes, or west through the Kresna gorge, where the Struma river cuts between the Pirin and the Maleshevo mountains. Watch for livestock, potholes and occasional erratic drivers.
Bansko, a town of over nine thousand people about twelve kilometres away, has fuel, shops, restaurants and plenty of accommodation. The old town, with its stone houses and cobbled streets, has kept its character despite the growth of the ski resort, and its mehanas, traditional taverns, serve hearty food: try kapama, a slow-cooked dish of meats, sauerkraut and rice baked in a clay pot, a Bansko speciality, with a glass of local red wine from Melnik, to the south. The best time to visit is from late June to September, when the high roads and trails are open.