About Bulgaria
Sandanski
Location: The town of Sandanski is situated in the south-west part of Bulgaria, at the foot of Pirin mountain, along the banks of river Sandanska Bistritsa, at 157 km south from the capital Sofia. It is famous with its mild climate influenced from the Aegean Sea, with its beautiful scenery and with its thermal springs.
Today this is one of the best thermal resorts in the country, whose microclimate is extremely favourable for the treatment of all lungs and respiratory maladies.
Sandanski is the best place for asthma treatment in Europe. The climate here is continental with strong Mediterranean influence – spring starts at the beginning of April, fall practically continues until December and the yearly percentage of sunny days is the highest in Bulgaria. The air is extremely pure, with low humidity (66%), with average annual temperature +14,1oC and low seasonal and day and night thermal amplitude. The winter here is mild, it snows rarely and practically there are no fogs.
The hot mineral springs are 80, the water temperature is between 42oC to 81oC, with low mineral content and rich chemical composition. Sandanski possesses excellent tourist base (hotels, swimming pools, talassotherapy centers etc.) and is known as one of the most visited places in the country from Bulgarians and foreigners alike.
Landmarks:
Surroundings:
Location: The town of Sandanski is situated in the south-west part of Bulgaria, at the foot of Pirin mountain, along the banks of river Sandanska Bistritsa, at 157 km south from the capital Sofia. It is famous with its mild climate influenced from the Aegean Sea, with its beautiful scenery and with its thermal springs.
Today this is one of the best thermal resorts in the country, whose microclimate is extremely favourable for the treatment of all lungs and respiratory maladies.
Sandanski is the best place for asthma treatment in Europe. The climate here is continental with strong Mediterranean influence – spring starts at the beginning of April, fall practically continues until December and the yearly percentage of sunny days is the highest in Bulgaria. The air is extremely pure, with low humidity (66%), with average annual temperature +14,1oC and low seasonal and day and night thermal amplitude. The winter here is mild, it snows rarely and practically there are no fogs.
The hot mineral springs are 80, the water temperature is between 42oC to 81oC, with low mineral content and rich chemical composition. Sandanski possesses excellent tourist base (hotels, swimming pools, talassotherapy centers etc.) and is known as one of the most visited places in the country from Bulgarians and foreigners alike.
Landmarks:
- Sveti Vrach Park:
That city park is arranged like botanical gardens and it spreads on the lower slopes of mountain Pirin at the outskirts of Sandanski. There are more than 200 different types of plants in her, many of which are Mediterranean species. Many mineral springs some of which are hot, attract many guests that come here for medical treatment.
- Archaeological Museum: Build-up atop an old basilica from the Early Christianity period. There are remains (mosaics), that bear record for the significance of the Roman town. Special section is dedicated to Spartacus – slave and gladiator in Rome that led one of the biggest revolts against the empire.
- St. George church: The only surviving building from the National Revival period (18th – 19th century).
- Likin Art gallery: was found in 1989. Rumen Bozhinov, an art expert, is its manager. Works of Bulgarian painters, mainly from the town and the region, are exhibited there. The gallery offers to make to order mosaics, stained glass and copies of Bysantian icons.
Surroundings:
- Melnik is located about 180 km south from Sofia and 23 km away from the town of Sandanski at the foot of Pirin Mountain. With population of only 250 inhabitants, Melnik is the smallest town in Bulgaria but it is so attractive that usually the number of tourists per day is several times higher than the number of inhabitants. The town was pronounced for a natural, cultural and historical reserve and also for a museum town because of its old white houses cuddling next to each other, located in the midst of unique sand formations, also known as The Pyramids of Melnik.
6 km north-east from Melnik, on the ridge of a high hill, Rozhen monastery is perched. It was founded in 1217 and it was burned down and pillaged several times after that. The current monastery building is from the 19th century, while the church is from the year 1600 and it was renovated in 1732. The church has preserved unique mural paintings, glass stains and wood carving. The great Bulgarian revolutionary Yane Sandanski, who was buried close to the monastery, spent the last years of his life here.
- The road to the Rozhen monastery passes through the Sand Pyramids in Melnik – bizarre rock formation, with natural sculptures of different forms and delineations: some of them resemble hay stacks, others – the Egyptian pyramids or gothic hills, towers or enormous mushrooms.
