Bulgaria is a mountain country. More than half of its territory is occupied by mountains that vary in hight and nature. The Bulgarian mountains are accessible throughout the hole year and provide the tourists with limitless opportunities for recreation, tourism and sport.

36 of the 37 mountains in Bulgaria are situated in the southern part of the country. The 37th one is Stara Planina also known as The Blakan (and thus giving the name to the Balkan Peninsula). Stara Planina divides Bulgaria into Southern and Northern parts. It is the biggest and longest mountain range in the country. The second largest, which is parallel to the Balkan, is situated south of it and is called Sredna Gora. The most impressive mountain system in Bugaria however is called the Rilo-Rhodope massif which includes Rila, Pirin, Rhodopes, Slavianka and Sturgach.
Another mountain system is the Plana-Zaval system. It includes Zavalska, Viskiar, Lyulin, Vitosha and Plana. The highes and biggest of them is Vistosha. It is known that the bulgarian hiking movement started here in the late 19th century.
The next mountain system, situated south of Rila is the Verila-Roui system. It consists of 7 comparatively low mountains - Ezdimir, Strazha, Lyubash, Cherna Gora, Golo Byrdo and Verila.
The mountain system of Kraishte consists of 11 mountains. They are similar to the mountains in the Verila-Roui system - small and with a low altitude.
The Ossogovo - Belassitsa mountain group is in the south-west corner of Bulgaria and consists of 5 mountains - Ossogovo, Belassitsa, Vlahina, Malashevska and Ograzhden.

There are almost 400 high-mountain lakes in Bulgaria scattered around Rila and Pirin. There are even more at lower altitude. Together they all represent a minor part of the rich bugarian nature.

There are many bioshere reserves established aroun Bulgaria. Huge parts of the mountain systems have been declared as National Parks.

Hiking

There are unlimited opportunities for hiking tourism in Bulgaria. More than 300 chalets are connected into a sufficiently dense network.

The major Bulgarian mountains are:

Rila	Pirin	Rhodopes
Stara Planina	Vitosha