There is no special season in which is best to visit Bansko, because in all seasons the town is fascinating and suitable for visits. There is always something to do in Bansko, sights to see and abundant choice of entertainment activities.
No matter in which season you decide to visit Bansko, you will not regret it even for a moment, but our favorite season is definitely the autumn.
Autumn in Bansko cannot be compared to anything else. This is the time when the town rests from the hot summer days and the mountain slowly begins to put on its colorful dress. This is the time when you can enjoy all your favorite outdoor activities and recharge yourself with the energy you will need during the winter season. This is also the time when you can take part in the numerous cultural events organized in Bansko.
Traditions, customs, activities and attractions in Bansko during the autumn season, in which you can take part
The residents of Bansko can have fun and they do it from heart and soul. If you visit Bansko during the autumn cultural events that are organized here, you will be charmed by the symbiosis between traditions, customs and modern attractions and activities that take place from the end of the summer until the lighting of the Christmas decorations in the first days of December.
„Bansko Balkan Fest“ – Festival of Balkan music
The beginning of autumn in Bansko is celebrated with the already established as traditional festival of Balkan music „Bansko Balkan fest”. The festival is held in the first seven days of September on the main square of the town, and many favorite Bulgarian and Balkan artists take part in it. Every year „Bansko Balkan fest” gathers thousands of fans of Balkan music, and the celebration continues for two days. During the festival, the party does not stop, and all people in Bansko gather in the square and have fun together with their favorite artists.
If you decide to visit Bansko in September, do not miss the Festival of Balkan music – you will have a great time. And who knows, you can meet some of your favorite folk singers personally!
Cultural evenings in Bansko „Traditions and Art”
For several years in Bansko has been organized the highly successful format „Traditions and Art”. The format is held every Saturday, it continues from the beginning of July to the early September, and every year gathers more and more fans coming from all over the country and abroad to enjoy the Bulgarian traditions, to learn more about the traditional Bugarian crafts.
During the evenings of traditions and art, visitors are introduced to forgotten skills such as knitting, spinning, weaving and embroidering. If you are in Bansko this autumn, you can also experience these almost forgotten crafts and learn to do some of them, as well as to buy handmade knitted product or fine embroidery.
Besides taking part in these activities, you can also participate in demonstrative lessons, visit exhibitions of local artists, and learn more about the local folklore traditions, or join the day-long tours organized by the municipality of Bansko of the most impressive sights of the town and the surrounding areas.
The cultural evenings „Traditions and Art” attract the interest of many foreigners who want to learn more about the Bulgarian crafts, cuisine, folklore and history. This format is the ideal way to allow more and more people from different countries to taste the Bulgarian cuisine and to popularize the country as a great tourist destination.
Three mountains hard enduro Bansko
If you like high speed and the powerful roar of the motorbikes, Bansko has been hosting one of the rounds of the Bulgarian Extreme enduro championship. The competition takes place in late September and is attended by our best motor racers.
The terrain on which the Three mountains hard enduro Bansko is held, is quite difficult and the adrenaline is really high – both for the racers and for the spectators. Do you have gas in your blood? Do you like extreme competitions? Then spend a few days at the end of September and visit Bansko, and see the race of the masters of extreme motorcycling. And after the race you can buy a T-shirt or hat to remember the event.
Celebration of Bansko
The date on which the residents of Bansko celebrate the holiday of the town is October 5th, but the celebrations start several days earlier. If you are in Bansko from 1st to 5th of October, you can take part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of the Liberation of Basnko from Ottoman Rule.
Within these few days, many concerts, exhibitions and sports events will be organized in the town. Every day there are many interesting cultural events, folklore concerts, tasting of traditional specialties from Bansko, poetic readings, exhibitions and many more.
The day of Bansko is celebrated solemnly, and on the 5th of October the holiday starts with bell ring from the „Saint Trinity” church and solemn liturgy in the temple. According to the tradition, this way of starting the celebrations is honored and practiced from the very first day on which Bansko was liberated from the Turks. On this day in Bansko entered the detachment of Hristo Chernopeev, and Peyo Yavorov made a great speech in the church, which ends with the words: „No more Turks, now you are free”.
Numerous cultural events are organized during the day in Bansko such as the day of open doors of museums, bringing wreaths and flowers to the monuments of prominent residents of Bansko, and in the evening local people and guests of the town gather in the square and celebrate with one of the most famous Bulgarian artists who have an incredible concerts there. The end of the holiday is celebrated with magnificent fireworks in the sky above Bansko.
(If you are in Bansko at that time you will be able to visit the concert – show „Candlestick under the proud Pirin Mountain”).
International folklore festival for dance clubs „Colorful pitcher 2019”
Just a few days after the end of the celebrations of Bansko, you can recharge your batteries and enjoy the International folklore festival of dance clubs „Colorful pitcher”, which is organized in Dobrinishte. The festival is held within one day (12.10.2019) and traditionally it is a host of many Bulgarian and foreign dance formations. You can enjoy plenty of traditional costumes, you can dance to the sounds of folklore music of different nations, you will meet many new people and for sure you will have a great time in the streets of Dobrinishte.
November is almost full of different celebrations in Bansko. Depending on your wishes, you can attend the celebrations on the occasion of the Day of the Bulgarian National Revival Leaders, you can visit the open lesson „National Revival Leaders of Bansko”, celebrate the 270 anniversary of the construction of the Rila convent in Bansko together with the residents, 175 years since the birth of Georgi Molerov (a descendant of the zograf family Molerovi and prominent representative of the famous Bansko Art School), and so on.
If you want to attend any of these celebrations, you can check the detailed information about the day and place of the event on the official website of the municipality of Bansko.
International Bansko film fest
The mountain film festival has been held for nearly 20 years in Bansko and is one of the biggest and most anticipated autumn cultural events in the town. Every year at the end of November (from 20th to 24) the resort town welcomes many guests who come to see more than 100 movies about mountaineering and extreme sports, and also to meet personally one of the best skiers, climbers, mountaineers, snowboarders, free riders, surfers, divers, extreme cyclers and other extreme sports enthusiasts. Extreme athletes tell stories about their experiences, they give guidances to all who want to practice extreme sports or mountaineering, and they answer questions.
If your holiday in Bansko is at the end of November and you have free days, you can also welcome the beginning of the winter holidays in Bansko, which start at the beginning of December with the lighting of Christmas decorations.
Although this is not an autumn event, we strongly recommend you to participate if you can, because you will enjoy a really great celebrations. All residents of Bansko gather in the square in front of the Municipality and all people sing and dance together around the Christmas tree until the small hours of the night.
Activities that you can practice individually
As mentioned earlier, autumn is very pleasant in Bansko and is one of the best seasons during which you can relax and have fun in as many ways as possible. For example, you can organize a one-day trip and follow one of the many hiking trails and routes that start from Bansko.
You can also go to Banderishka polyana and enjoy the great weather, as well as to try the numerous activities offered by the sports and entertainment facility located there.
If you travel in a group, you can spend some great time together and have a walk in the forests around Bansko, for example, you can play some paintball there. Or you can go to one of the many horse bases and learn how to ride a horse, you can also ride a bike through the narrow forest paths, or have an adventure in one of the escape rooms located in hotel Lucky Bansko.
There are many options for entertainment during the autumn season in Bansko, so it is up to you how you will spend your holiday in the resort town.
The residents of Bansko know how to have fun and they do it from heart and soul. They also know how to make their guests happy and they do it with open heart.