Trail Running in Pirin National Park (Bansko), Bulgaria
When people think of Bulgaria, mountains with jagged peaks is not what comes to mind. At least it wasn’t for me and, judging from the reaction I got from most people when I spoke of going there, it wasn’t for them either. However, something I learned while I was there is that the word “Balkan” originates from the Turkish word for “Mountain”. Seems the Turks know something the rest of us don’t.
I stumbled upon the little town of Bansko because of a series of mountain races, the longest being the Pirin Ultra 100 (a write-up of my race experience can be found here). They all start in Bansko and run up into the adjacent Pirin National Park.
Why not take the opportunity to travel and run a race that would likely be even more memorable and cost less than running one in the US (the race cost about $100, my airBNB was $19/night, the flight was $545, and food was cheap as hell)? Whether doing a race or just wanting to play in the mountains for a while, the cost savings offsets any expense in getting here (is it any cheaper to get to Colorado?). No doubt I actually saved money.
My trip here quickly evolved quickly into the justification for an entire trip that also included Rila National Park in Bulgaria and Mount Olympus in Greece (possibly the most magical mountain on which I’ve had the pleasure of running).
I arrived in Bansko a few days prior to the race. It is a resort town (mostly just for skiing) located right at the base of the mountains at an elevation of about 3000ft. Bansko is also becoming quite well-known as a hub for digital nomads (if you are interested in or able to work remotely) and has a few different co-working spaces as well as a digital nomad festival in the summer.
I stayed at a condo (AirBnB LINK) with trails a 5-minute walk away and downtown about a 10-minute walk. Many places were not open in the summer, particularly further away from downtown / closer to the mountains, but there were sufficient restaurants and grocery stores for me to meet my needs. Even being plant-based there was not an issue and the town yielded some phenomenal food.
The national park lies to the southwest of town. The mountains here are jagged and scuplted, much different from the peaks to the north that I saw in Rila. This range reminded me of the Sangre de Christo mountains in Colorado. The park is big; big enough to contain the 100 mile race without covering much of the same terrain.
The Koncheto Loop
Because of the lead up to the race, and then the recovery after the race, I didn’t do a ton of running in the mountains, other than the race. However, there was one stretch I wanted to do before leaving. This is the stretch showcased in the video for the Pirin Ultra called “Koncheto” (it apparently means, “little horse”). The 100-mile race did not cross this and I really wanted to experience that ridgeline and the views.
I will walk through that route, and include a couple of links to smaller runs at the end. Between the race, the Koncheto loop, the smaller runs, and the trails shown on the maps, you’ll have a good idea of what is available in Pirin.
Koncheto Loop: 18 miles, 6300ft ascent/descent
Koncheto Loop map
This starts by running parallel to the main access road heading into the mountains, to the ski lifts. There are a few routes that can be taken, some more scenic than others. I ended up on an access (dirt) road that was not terribly scenic. I should have followed the first stretch of the 100 instead (LINK to that map). It would have been much more single-track, though a bit slower and with a little more elevation gain.
After 6 miles, the route takes a right away from the valley and begins its serious climbing. I believe there is a sign that says Koncheto (in Bulgarian “Кончето”) pointing the way but I would not recommend depending on signage, which was lacking (almost non-existent) throughout Bulgaria.
This climb will take you around the north-side of Vihren eventually reaching a saddle where you’ll overlook a bowl with a lake in it. There are some options here but ultimately you need to get to the summit of Kutelo 1. You can go by way of the Kanzana shelter, to the right, or follow the route I did, to the left, which first hits the saddle between Vihren and Kutelo before climbing up Kutelo.
From the saddle, simply grind your way up to the summit of Kutelo and you’ll be at the starting point for Koncheto. The only thing to do from here is follow the ridge.
The ridge is sharp but manageable in the beginning but the walls get increasingly steep as you move forward. After a while, as the drop-off increases, this becomes a via ferrata with stakes driven into the mountain and chains running between them to minimize the likelihood of tragedy. I often found these to be more in the way than helpful but there were definitely times where the pucker factor was high enough that I was holding on for dear life.
The route continues to Banski Suhodol (Бански суходол 2), which is the peak prior to the Koncheto hut, and the official end of Koncheto. From here, my route takes a right to head back toward Bansko. However, it doesn’t get much easier.
The next mile after turning right off of Koncheto at Banski Suhodol is also quite exposed, but without any protections. The route can be followed using the occassional blazes as well as the old metal rungs that are in the rock. Basically, stay on the ridge. The progress is slow (was slow, for me).
After a mile the route is less exposed, but still a bit challenging to navigate. It is just a matter of continuing to follow the ridge, though sometimes the trail drops below it for a bit.
Eventually the route reaches the last peak along the ridge and then drops off to the right (I accidentally went to the left. Don’t be like me) and steeply descends back towards treeline.
At some point (about 14.5 miles in) this trail will connect with a road. The road dead-ends here and a trail continues to your right. The road drops down to your left. Take the road (dirt road) and after about 1 mile your be connecting with the way you came in.
A couple of other runs I did went right out of Bansko and only covered 4 or 5 miles. There is a lot more to explore there and in these mountains. I hope these maps provided in the write-up and below can provide a good starting point.
