Paril ( bg, Парил) is a mountain saddle (pass) in western

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

between the mountain ranges of

Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

to the north and Slavyanka to the south. It is situated on the territory of the

Sandanski Sandanski ( bg, Сандански ; el, Σαντάνσκι, formerly known as Sveti Vrach, bg, Свети Врач, until 1947) is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after the Bulga ...

and Hadzhidimovo municipalities in

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province ( bg, област Благоевград, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Маке� ...

. The pass is 10.6 km long with a maximum altitude of 1176 m. It connects the Sandanski-Petrich Valley of the river Struma basin in the west and the Gotse Delchev Valley of the river

Mesta The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migrat ...

basin in the east. It begins to the north-east from the village of Paril at 817 m altitude and runs in western direction upstream of the Chokovitsa valley. It reaches its highest point of 1176 m after 4.6 km and then descends westwards along the valley of the river Chereshar where it terminates after 7 km at an altitude of 756 m. Paril is traversed by a 10.6 km long section of the III-1906 third-class road

Koprivlen Koprivlen is a village in Hadzhidimovo Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. Geography The village of Koprivlen is located at the foot of the eastern slopes of the Pirin mountains, in the southwestern part of the Republic of Bulgaria, ...

–Paril–

Katuntsi Katuntsi is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eas ...

. This section is in poor condition and is accessible only for off-road vehicles. It is not maintained in winter. The saddle itself is short, wide and deep with mild slopes and has erosion origin. The geological foundation is predominantly of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The soils are brown forest. Paril is covered with beech forests. The saddle is crossed by the

E4 European long distance path The E4 European long distance path or E4 path is one of the European long-distance paths. Starting at Tarifa Andalusia, located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, it continues throug ...

that links Pirin and Slavyanka. To the south is situated the Alibotush Reserve. At about 10 min to the east is located the Slavyanka refuge, an important starting point for a number of tourist routes in the vicinity.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Dushkov, 1972 , title = Пирин. Туристически речник , trans-title = Pirin. Tourist Dictionary , last1 = Душков (Dushkov) , first1 = Добри (Dobri) , year = 1972 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = Mountain passes of Bulgaria Pirin Landforms of Blagoevgrad Province