The Valyavishki Lakes () is a group of lakes in the northern part of the

Pirin National Park Pirin National Park ( bg, Национален парк "Пирин"), originally named Vihren National Park, encompasses the larger part of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains in southwestern Bulgaria, spanning an area of . It is one of the three natio ...

in southwestern

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 ...

and includes 10 lakes. They are situated in the

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

of the same name. The lakes are glacial and lie on a granite bed. They are located between 2,300 and 2,475 m. Their shores are steep and rocky. The higher lakes drain into the lower ones due to their step-like situation. Pine-scrub grows around the lakes.

Trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

are abundant in the waters. There have been attempts to introduce

Brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

into the lakes. The group is the source of the Valyavitsa river which is a main tributary to the Demyanitsa river. The largest lake by area is the ''Big Lake'' which is located at an altitude of 2379 m. It is 18 m deep. The big lake is 270 m wide and 480 m long with an area of 81.5 decares. The lake is situated in the vicinity of the Valyavishki Chukar peak. The Valyavishki lakes are among the main tourist attractions in the area. The closest hut is the Demyanitsa refuge, a 2-hour hike from the lakes.

References

{{Reflist Lakes of the Pirin