Belasitsa Nature Park

Belasitsa is located at a crossroads, divided between three countries (Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece). It contains centuries-old forests, an incredible mixture of mountain animal species characteristic of temperate latitudes with the specific Mediterranean fauna – a combination unique to this mountain. The most characteristic of Belasitsa are the chestnut forests, which have the largest deposits here in our country.

BBF took the first steps to protect the Belasitsa mountain in 2003. The protection of the centuries-old forests was one of the reasons for the declaration of a nature park at the proposal of the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation. Belasitsa Nature Park is the newest nature park, created in 2007. Belasitsa is part of the "European Green Belt" initiative. Since then, a number of projects aimed at protecting biodiversity and increasing the empathy of local communities towards environmental problems have been successfully implemented.

Currently, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation is working on the development of ecological tourism in the area, as well as on the transformation of the entire mountain into a cross-border protected area.

The main directions of our work are:

• Creation of Belasitsa Nature Park as a tool for nature protection and sustainable development of the region;
• Supporting the development of sustainable tourism in Belasitsa;
• Increasing the nature protection culture and the local community's awareness of biodiversity issues;
• Environmental education;
• Development of international cooperation for nature protection.

Over the years, we have helped create a database of tourist resources, developed 3 long and 9 short hiking routes, and created 4 thematic routes ("The Life of the Chestnut", "Friends" trail, "Ant Trail", "Butterflies and Flowers of Belasitsa" "). We have issued a tourist map of Belasitsa, a tourist guide, brochures on the thematic routes, postcards, and a book "Interesting plants of Belasitsa". We organize familiarization tours, bicycle tours, and participation in tourist fairs. We also maintain the Internet portal www.belasitsa.com

Projects related to the territory
Belasitsa beyond borders
Cross-border ecological information "cells" in the municipalities of Doxato and Banite
Preservation of globally significant biodiversity of Mount Belasitsa by involving local communities in ecotourism development
Belasitsa - on the path of sustainable development and nature protection