Pirin National Park is a huge area of
wilderness in south-west Bulgaria, covering more than 270 square kilometres.
This is a sparsely populated mountain region with many rivers, waterfalls and
caves. There are more than seventy glacial lakes. Parts of the National Park
are forested, but above the treeline are alpine meadows and bare expanses of
limestone.
This is a haven for many species of
wildlife, and the area is regarded as a living fossil in terms of the flora and
fauna that have existed here since the last Ice Age. Many species are endemic
to the area and are very rare. This is an excellent place for birdwatchers, as
more than 160 species have been recorded, and there also 45 species of land
mammal including brown bears.
Despite the location of Pirin in southern
Europe (it is not far north of the Aegean) the high altitude means that summers
are cool and short and snow cover can be expected for up to eight months.
Pirin National Park has been a Unesco World
Heritage Site since 1983.
© John Welford
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