Bansko has the best snow record, largest ski area and the longest ski season (15 Dec - 15 May) of all Bulgarian ski resorts. For several years, Bansko has hosted both the mens and womens Alpine World Cup downhill championships, evidence of the quality of the more challenging ski runs. The resort is suitable for ski enthusiasts of all levels, from the absolute beginner to the extreme high performer and is particularly good for beginners and intermediates, being one of the few resorts where you can ski from the very top of the mountain to the bottom on blue runs (with a few short red bits on the way!). There is a great fun park and the opportunity to try tandem paragliding. Bansko also has an outdoor ice rink in winter. There are lots of ski schools and hire shops and ski prices are so much lower than resorts in eastern Europe!