Walking in Bulgaria's National Parks. Julian Perry

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      Central Balkan endemic flora: Balkan primrose (Priumla frondosa) (Walk 2)

      The oak zone is found exclusively on the southern flank of the mountains. Here too, and again reaching up to altitudes of about 900m, there is also a somewhat similar oak-hornbeam zone. This is dominated by communities of the Balkan durmast oak (Quercus dalechampii) in conjunction with hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and eastern hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis). Manna ash (Fraxinus ornus) and hop-hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia) again both also often occur in this zone, as well as silver lime (Tilia tomentosa), hazel (Corylus avellana) and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

      Between about 800m and 1600m, on both sides of the ridge, it is beech forests that dominate the national park, covering over 40 per cent of its total area. Indeed, about 70 per cent of all trees growing within the national park are beech (Fagus sylvatica), and these have an average age of 135 years. Not only do they play a fundamental role in terms of local climate, hydrology and biodiversity, they also make up the most extensive and least degraded block of beech forest in Europe. Within this zone one also frequently finds examples of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Balkan maple (Acer heldreichii), Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and silver fir (Abies alba), as well as the occasional common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and hazel (Corylus avellana).

      Within the Central Balkan national park, coniferous forests are highly fragmented and do not form a distinct zone as they do in the Rila and Pirin mountains. Isolated blocks of Norway spruce (Picea abies) are found in and around the Boatin, Tsarichina, Stara Reka and Dzhendema reserves, with the average age of trees being 120 years. Of particular interest is the occurrence of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce) within the national park. Not only is the region of the Tsarichina Reserve the sole location of this Balkan endemic species in the Stara Planina, it also represents the most extreme northerly outpost of its worldwide geographical distribution.

      As the beech or coniferous forests finally give way, somewhere between 1500m and 1850m, you enter into the sub-alpine zone. Here the vegetation is dominated by low scrubby formations of Siberian juniper (Juniperus sibirica), whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and Balkan spike-heath (Bruckenthalia spiculifolia). In places you can also find patches of dwarf mountain pine (Pinus mugo), but the occurrence of this species within the Central Balkan national park is far more restricted than it is in the Rila or Pirin mountains.

      Wildlife

      Dragonflies

      The dragonflies of the Central Balkan national park have not yet been studied in detail, with records only from one small region. So far nine species have been reported: robust spreadwing (Lestes dryas), common bluetail (Ischnura elegans), azure bluet (Coenagrion puella), blue featherleg (Platycnemis pennipes), blue hawker (Aeschna cyanea), sombre goldenring (Cordulegaster bidentatus), broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa), southern skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) and ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). It is likely, however, that after further research, especially along the upper courses of some of the streams, more species will be discovered.

      Butterflies

      The butterflies of the Central Balkan national park have been the focus of scientific research for almost 100 years. So far almost 60 species have been recorded in the region, and it has recently been recognised as a Prime Butterfly Area. Important species found within the national park include Apollo (Parnassius apollo), clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne), large blue (Maculinea arion), false Eros blue (Polyommatus eroides), purple emperor (Apatura iris), eastern large heath (Coenonympha rhodopensis), lesser spotted fritillary (Melitaea trivia), bog fritillary (Boloria eunomia), and a variety of high mountain ringlets such as Bulgarian ringlet (Erebia orientalis), woodland ringlet (Erebia medusa), almond-eyed ringlet (Erebia alberganus), Nicholl’s ringlet (Erebia rhodopensis), water ringlet (Erebia pronoe) and black ringlet (Erebia melas).

      Fish

      Lacking lakes or other large areas of open water, the variety of fish found within the Central Balkan national park is rather limited, with only six species recorded in the region. Most typical are the brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) and the minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), while the miller’s thumb (Cottus gobio), Balkan barbel (Barbus meridionalis petenyi) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have been reported in rivers at the periphery of the national park. There is also a record of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from the river Zavodna from the 1970s, but this species has not since been recorded in the region.

      Amphibians

      There are eight species of amphibian currently known to be present within the Central Balkan national park. These are fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata), green toad (Epidalea viridis), common toad (Bufo bufo), European tree frog (Hyla arborea), marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), common frog (Rana temporaria) and agile frog (Rana dalmatina).