The town of Sandanski is located in southwest Bulgaria, situated on the southwest slopes of Pirin Mountain. Its average altitude is from 240 - 300 meters. The population of the city is 25 279 people.
Sandanski is the warmest town in Bulgaria during all seasons, with an average annual temperature of 14.7 ° C and an average annual sunshine duration of 2450 hours.
The town of Sandanski is the administrative center of the Municipality of Sandanski, with a population of 41,606 people, inhabiting the towns of Sandanski and Melnik, and 52 villages.
The town was historically established as a major economic, cultural and administrative center, situated at the southwestern foothills of the Pirin Mountains and the outflow of the Sandanska Bistritsa River. Since ancient times the settlement is famous for its curative mineral water springs, the invigorating effect of the mountain air and healthful Mediterranean climate.
Over 150 archeological sites from prehistoric times and Antiquity to the Middle Ages are proves of the region vitality over the centuries. According to research carried out during 1950 by the German professor Conrad Cigler, it was proved that Spartacus, the leader of the biggest slave revolt in the Roman Empire, came from this region, populated by his Thracian tribe Medi in II century BC.
The Rozhen monastery is the biggest sanctuary in the Pirin region and one of the few Bulgarian monasteries of the medieval time, which has survived relatively intact up to present days. According to annals kept in Atone, Greece, the monastery dates back at least to 890 AC.
Located at an altitude of 220-240m, Sandanski is the warmest Bulgarian town during all seasons, as the amount of sunshine exceeds 2450 hours. The air is exceptionally clean, fresh with relatively low humidity (66%), and the average annual temperature is +14,70 C with minor seasonal and daily changes. The winter is short and mild, the autumn is long and warm, and spring comes early, sunny and warm. The combination of favorable natural conditions and curative mineral water springs ranging in temperature from 42 to 81C, make the town a preferred place for balneal-climatic treatment of: non-specific pulmonary diseases (chronic bronchitis, post-pneumonia, early pulmonary emphysema); conditions of the upper respiratory tract ( chronic rhinitis, sinusitis ), disturbances of the locomotory system of a degenerative or inflammatory origin (rheumatoid arthritis, tenosynovitis); neurological complaints (plexitis, radiculitis, slipped disc ); diseases of the peripheral nervous system and allergic skin diseases ( urticaria, psoriasis.
Sandanski is also proud of it’s unique town park. It covers a territory of 34 ha with more than 100 tree and 150 flower species grown. Over the years Sandanski became internationally known Spa Resort with more than 100 000 visitors each year from Bulgaria and abroad. Melnik situated 22 km away from Sandanski is Bulgaria smallest town with only 267 inhabitants. It nestles in the exquisite draperies of the Melnik “pyramids” in the foothills of Pirin Mountains. The town is famous for its heavy dark with distinctive taste red wine.
Located only 160 km from the Bulgarian capital – Sofia, 90 km from the winter ski and summer Golf Resort Bansko and just 80km from the Aegean Sea, Sandanski is easily accessible via E 79 highway, the international airports of Sofia and Thessaloniki (150 km), Greece. During the last several years Sandanski and vicinity became one of the most booming regions in Bulgaria. The excellent location and microclimate contributes for the constant both local and foreign investment in housing, tourism industry and related services ( there are more than 50 modern hotels in town). In brief it’s a place worth to visit for a vacation or longer.