Location

Bulgaria is situated in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula. The country population is 8.4 million and it occupies an area of 110.099 sq. km, sharing boarders with Greece and Turkey in the South, Macedonia and Serbia in the West. The River Danube separates it from Romania in the North and its natural boarder in the East is Black Sea.

Bulgaria ranks 15th in size among European countries and it is situated in the centre of a region in a process of dynamic development. Within a range of 750 km from Sofia there is population of over 90 million people in 15 countries. Located on the crossroad between Asia and Europe Bulgaria is a knot of international railways, motorways and communicational links connecting it with its neighbours and beyond to Western Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Waterways, the Danube River and Black Sea offer good communications with Central Europe and other continents.

The country relief is most varied but can be divided into several main areas. The Danubian hilly plain occupies about 1/3 of the country territory and extends from the Stara Planina range north to the Danube River and east to the Black Sea coast.

The Rila-Rhodope mountain system covers area of 22000 sq. km and has 3 sub-areas - The Rhodopes, The Ossogovo and Belassitsa, and the Rila and Pirin mountains. The highest summit of this sub-region as well as on the Balkan Peninsula is Moussala /2,925 m above sea level/.

The Black Sea coastal area deserves special mention. It extends over 378 km and has two big navigable bays: Varna and Bourgas bays. Its northern part is low and marshy, while the central part is high and steep, with many reefs. South of the town of Nessebar and the bay of Bourgas the coast slopes again and provides favourable conditions for summer holidaymaking. Along the coast there are wide beaches of fine sand.