Bansko & Pirin Flora & Fauna

The Pirin National Park is a natural World Heritage site with glacial lakes, waterfalls and pine forests which provide shelter for many endemic and rare species, many from the Balkan Pleistocene flora.

114 threatened vertebrate species habitate the park, examples being the brown bear, grey wolf, wild cat, red deer, Balkan chamios, greater mouse-eared bat and the Greek tortoise.

The area is also an important bird area with 44 of the recorded species being under European conservation, including the golden eagle, short toed eagle, Tengmalm's owl and the three toes woodpeacker.

Over 3,400 species of invertebrate have been recorded in the Pirin of which 294 are rare species (mostly in the Araneae and Lepidoptera).

The park is an important Plant area and contains a third of Bulgaria's flora: 120 are endangered and 182 have medicinal value. Many rare species such as the Pirin Poppy, golden aquilegia, edelweiss, yellow gentian and Kozhuharov's oxytropis can be found in the park.