Pamporovo: the back story

About Pamporovo: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Pamporovo lies high in the Rhodopes, the gentle, forested mountains of southern Bulgaria that the resort calls the land of Orpheus and the cradle of Thracian civilisation. Its pistes run through pine forest below the Snezhanka tower, and on a clear day the view runs south towards Greece.

The land of Orpheus

The Rhodopes run across southern Bulgaria into Greece, a long range of rounded, forested ridges, deep gorges and villages of stone. Myth makes them the home of Orpheus, the singer of the Thracians, Pamporovo sits high among them, between the towns of Chepelare and Smolyan, known for its many sunny days and crystal-clear air.

Snezhanka and its tower

The resort’s landmark is the Snezhanka tower, a 156-metre television tower on the summit above the pistes, with a terrace that looks all around the Rhodopes. Chairlifts climb to the summit from Studenets, Malina, Stoykite and the Smolyan Lakes, and the Golden Eagle restaurant stands beside the top station, looking out over the mountains towards Greece.

Pamporovo lies high in the Rhodopes, the gentle, forested mountains of southern Bulgaria that the resort calls the land of Orpheus.

Fifty years of ski school

The resort’s ski school has been teaching since the 1970s and is the largest in Pamporovo, with a children’s ski garden for four- and five-year-olds. For more than ten years Pamporovo AD has also taken part in the national Learn to Ski programme, which gives almost every local child in grades one to four a four-day ski course. Just down the valley in Chepelare is the world’s largest Atomic ski factory, which is why the best rental skis here are Atomics.

The Wall and the World Cup

For serious racers, Pamporovo has Stenata, the Wall, a steep slope that has hosted European Championships in giant slalom and slalom. In January 2024 the resort staged two FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup races, parallel slaloms for men and women. Since 2016 the operator has also run the lifts at Mechi Chal near Chepelare, linked for now by ski shuttle, with plans to join the two areas by lift.

Rhodope cooking

Mountain food here is hearty and local: patatnik, a potato and cheese bake; kachamak, the polenta of the shepherds; Smilyan beans, grown in a nearby village; lamb cheverme, roasted on a spit; marudnik; and Rhodope klin. Try them in the mountain restaurants along the slopes.

Our advice: start early from Studenets or Stoykite, ride up to Snezhanka on a clear day for the view, and spend a day on the long runs at Mechi Chal with the same pass.

Pamporovo in numbers

From Pamporovo AD (pamporovo.me).

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Pamporovo: the back story before you go.