Chepelare Sport Centre Guide

Chepelare Sport Centre Guide

If you have decided to travel to the heart of the Rhodope Mountain, prepare yourself to be enchanted by the magic impact of its unique beauty. Approximately one hour trip from Plovdiv, along the upper float of the Chepelarska River, Chepelare town is huddled at the foot of the mountain. The town is situated 1150 m above the sea level and it is the highest town in Bulgaria Chepelare is just 80 km away from Plovdiv, 230 km away from Sofia and 22 km north of Smolyan.

The town boasts with traditions and history in the ski sports in Bulgaria. The first ski school in Chepelare was found in 1954. Many of its students reached top positions in the ski disciplines in Bulgaria. In 1969 a sport school for alpine skiing and cross country disciplines was found in the town. Famous skiers like Mitko Hadjiev, Borislav Kiriakov, Irin Pashliev and Ekaterina Dafovska graduated the school. Since 1975 a factory for skies functions in Chepelare. In 2008 it was bought by AmerSports and is now producing first class ski equipment.

Almost 38 years after the first ski competition “Chepelare Ski Cup”, today the resort welcomes tourists from all over with 20 km long ski slopes and modern lift equipment. The old ski slopes and equipment are completely renewed and marked according to the European standards.

One of the main slopes in the centre is “red” and is 3250 meters long. It is equipped with the most modern system for artificial snow in Bulgaria – Johnson Controls. The 47 snow cannons can cover the ski slope for 100 hours in -3 ° C. A 6 km long “green” ski slope for beginners and several lighter slopes of different difficulty are available at guests’ disposal in the ski centre. Advanced skiers and snowboarders can enjoy a 1.2 km long “red” ski slope with deep snow.

All ski slopes offer free of charge wireless Internet. Thus all ski lovers will be able to serf the internet while they rest between the downhill or in the nearby après ski bars. A new generation high speed quad with a capacity of 2000 persons per hour service the ski centre in the resort. Thus tourists are able to reach the “Mechi Chal” peak in just 9 minutes. The lift was constructed by the French company “Pomagalski”. A special access system AXESS avoids queues during the busiest hours of the day.

Famous residents: Ekaterina Dafovska is the most popular Bulgarian biathlon sportiest. She was born on 28 November 1975 in Chepelare. She won the first golden Olympic medal for Bulgaria on a winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998. Ekaterina is the front face of sport centre Chepelare. Radoslav Yankov was born on 26 January 1990 in Chepelare. In 2007 he won a golden medal on the European youth olimpic festival in Haka, Spain. In 2008 he became a world champion on the youth world championship in Valmalenki, Italy. On 05 March 2008 he became a world champion in snowboard giant slalom in Yomase, Japan.

Resort Information Chepelare is a remarkable ethnographic and folklore reserve. It has preserved the unique Rhodopi architecture (Uzunov’s House and Stoyu Shishkov’s House). There are two magnificent Eastern Orthodox temples in Chepelare. One is dedicated to St. Anastasius and was built in 1835. The other was constructed in 1866, two years afterwards a two-storey building was constructed to host a school. The town also features the only operational Rhodopi Karst Museum operational in Europe, which presents the beauty of caves and cave exhibits preserved from the dawn of mankind. The ski and ski sport museum is a large museum collection. It is hosted by the largest municipal public reading hall called Rhodopi Spark. During the spring Chepelare completely transforms its outlook. It becomes a quiet and calm mountain town offering numerous opportunities for active mountain tourism.