Trying out Bansko as a digital nomad
Bansko is a small ski-resort town in the mountains of Bulgaria. It has been gaining popularity as a digital nomad spot recently due to the combination of skiing, coworking, and low cost of life.
This summer, some of my nomad friends wanted to check out Bansko, so we decided to meet up there and share a house for two weeks :)
I'm Bulgarian, but I had never been to Bansko in its digital nomad days, so I was also curious to go.
We booked a 7-bedroom chalet. However, several people in our group backed out... We were about to cancel the reservation, but the owner offered us a significant discount - so we ended up keeping the whole chalet for only 4 people!
On our first day in Bansko, we headed for the mountains.
Bansko lies at the foot of Bulgaria's most beautiful mountain, Pirin. It's an alpine mountain, with sharp peaks and green meadows.
We were aiming for the highest peak - Vihren, at 2914m - but we really understimated it. It turned to be a very challenging hike, and we were not prepared with good shoes, etc. So we decided to visit some lakes around it instead, keeping to an altitude of 2000-2200m.
It was still a great hike with some breathtaking views :)
We spent the next two weeks living and working in Bansko. It was the perfect place for a mountain-addict like me. I was waking up every morning at 6:30am to hike for a few hours before work.
The town was very small, calm and pretty. I loved walking there in the early morning light, with no one around.
On my solitary morning hikes I explored forests and discovered rivers and waterfalls.
The mountain was berry heaven. It was the season for wild raspberries and they were everywhere! I ate handfuls of them on every hike, straight from the bush.
I also found a lot of strawberries, even though the season was over!
Foraging (and eating) wild berries is one of my favorite things in life.
On the weekend we rented electric bikes and went mountain biking. We had lots of fun found some cool places, including a little abandoned house.
We also went to the hot springs together with the Coworking Bansko community. There were three pools of varying temperature. The hottest one was extremely relaxing.
The two weeks passed quickly and it was time for us to leave... My friends got on their flights back to their countries. I decided to extend my stay - I just couldn't help it, I love the mountain too much.
I just walked into a traditional guesthouse that looked cute and booked it. This turned out to be a great decision. The place was beautiful and I loved working in the garden. I also enjoying my big and airy room.
On my last weekend in Bansko, I went on a full-day solitary hike. I took the cable car to the top of the mountain, hiked around, then walked back down all the way to Bansko.
I had an absolutely amazing time in Bansko and the mountains, and I'm definitely coming back next summer :)