At Christmas, Bulgarian resorts run on artificial snow: because of their southern latitude, even Borovets with a mid-mountain at 1,900 m had enough natural snow over the holidays in only 16 of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14, and Bansko, Pamporovo and Tschepelare less often still. Continuous natural snow cover in Rila, Pirin and the Rhodopes usually only settles towards the end of December or by mid-January, and holds until April. Hence the main advice for British skiers: Bulgaria works well for a trip after New Year, but for the festive week it is only worth travelling there if you are happy with pistes covered by snowmaking. This is the climate of 30 past winters and model scenarios, not a forecast; for snow in a given week, check the resort's own snow report.
The site counts a Christmas as snowy when, from 22 December to 4 January, there was at least 30 cm of natural snow on at least 10 days out of 14. A resort becomes snow-sure at 25 or more such holidays out of 30.
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Borovets: the best in the country, but not snow-sure
Borovets in the Rila mountains, with its mid-mountain at 1,900 m, scored 16 snowy Christmases out of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14, meaning there was enough natural snow over the holidays roughly every second year. In the Alps, an altitude like that often means a full score, but the latitude here is lower. The median date by which Borovets gets a continuous cover of at least 30 cm is 25 December, so the holidays fall right at the start of the season.
Bansko, Pamporovo and Tschepelare
Bansko in the Pirin mountains at 1,800 m picked up 11 snowy Christmases out of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14. In the Rhodopes, Pamporovo at 1,700 m scored 8 out of 30, while Tschepelare (usually spelled Chepelare in English) at 1,500 m managed just 1 out of 30. The lower and further south you go, the later natural snow arrives.
Christmas on pistes covered by snowmaking
With snowmaking, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo each have 30 snowy Christmases out of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14, and Tschepelare 27 out of 30, so all 4 resorts clear the bar. That means it was cold enough to make snow over the holidays; how many runs a resort actually covers with guns, the Crocus model does not know, it calculates an average level of snowmaking (methodology).
An example: a couple books Bansko for the week starting 27 December. Across the 30-winter series, the median start of natural cover there is 6 January, so over the holidays they will most likely be skiing on man-made snow surrounded by bare slopes. Shifting the trip to late January puts them in mid-season with natural snow instead.
When to go skiing in Bulgaria
Below are the median dates between which continuous natural snow cover of at least 30 cm lay in the winters 1984/85–2013/14. You will find the details of the season on each resort's page, in the “The whole season” block.
| Resort | Cover from | Cover until |
|---|---|---|
| Borovets | 25 December | 20 April |
| Bansko | 6 January | 12 April |
| Pamporovo | 16 January | 1 April |
The most reliable window for all three resorts runs from mid-January to the end of March. For Borovets it is wider, and of the three it comes closest to Christmas.
Bulgaria compared with Austria and Italy
| Country | Snow-sure resorts (winters 1984/85–2013/14) | Median resort, snowy Christmases out of 30 |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 0 of 4 | 10 |
| Italy | 19 of 117 | 15 |
| Austria | 62 of 134 | 23 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Bulgaria a good place to ski, going by the snow?
From mid-January to the end of March, yes: in that period Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo have continuous natural cover in a typical winter. For Christmas and early December, no: then the snow is mostly artificial.
When and where to ski in Bulgaria
None of the 4 Bulgarian resorts is snow-sure on natural snow at Christmas in the winters 1984/85–2013/14: Borovets 16 of 30, Bansko 11, Pamporovo 8, Tschepelare 1. You can still ski over the holidays thanks to snowmaking (30 of 30 for the first three). If your dates are flexible, choose mid-January to the end of March, when all three big resorts have natural cover; of them, Borovets starts earliest (from 25 December) and lasts latest (until 20 April).