Welcome to Chepelare

I hear his name always remembered for 1998 and the Nagano Olympics at which Bulgaria, in the face of Ekaterina Dafovska, won a gold medal in the biathlon.
Chepelare, the second largest city in the country after Dospat, is located in southern Bulgaria, in the Central part of the Rhodope Mountains and belongs to the region of Smolyan. It is about 75 km south of Plovdiv and 10 km north of Pamporovo. The Chepelarska River runs through the town. The climate here is moderately continental. The snow cover lasts from 80 to 120 days a year and its thickness is between 30-80 cm. As a winter resort the town offers ideal conditions for skiing, snowboard and biathlon. There are two runways conventionally called - red. One is 3250 meters long and equipped with the most modern artificial snow system in the country. The other is 1.2 km long with deep snow, equally comfortable for skiers, and for snowboarders. Besides the tricky red slopes, there are a few shorter and one green, especially for the average winter sports, its length is about 6 km. All of them have wireless internet access and a tour system is structured so as to eliminate the crowd of skiers in the busiest parts of the day. Ski lifts and a four-seat lift with capacity are built 2000 people per hour. The distance from the town and the Mechi Chal peak, which is 2700 m, and the lift takes 9 minutes.
One of the most interesting sites in Chepelare are the two museums. The first of these is the cave or karst and is the only one on the Balkans. The oldest exhibits in it is from the Yagodinska cave and is over 6000. Among its walls can be seen various minerals, precious stones, rocks and cave formations, bones from animals and restored skeleton of a cave bear, reaching a height of 4.5 m. The second is the Museum of Skiing and Skiing. It was created in 1998 after the gold medal of the Ekaterina Dafovska. Located in the Rhodope Spark Chitalishte, he gives an idea of ​​the history of the ski sport in the town. Skiing, shoes and other sports are also shown accessories.
Walking after having enjoyed the slopes and after having relaxed in some of the pleasant family hotels, you can visit the churches of the Assumption, and St. Athanasius the Great, the latter was erected in 1834 for 40 days, sit on one of the benches in the city garden with the waterfalls, aimlessly to walk Olympia Square or take pictures of the little Shipka military monument and the monuments of Captain Petko Voivoda, Vasil Gadzhurov and Vasil Delchev.
Exciting objects outside the city are the 5.5 km Rozhen Astronomical Observatory, the Chudnite Mostove phenomenon, the Shiroka Luka Architectural Reserve, enchanting with its beautiful Renaissance houses, Krastova Gora and Haidushka Polyani. The city is the only Balkan ski and snowboarding facility - Orion.
If you want to touch the Olympic spirit, Chepelare is your place as in the winter with its wonderful conditions for skiing and snowboarding, and in the summer with its tourist routes, showing the beauty of the Rhodope Mountains.