The Rila is the highest mountain on the Balkan peninsular. More than 200 lakes sparkle amidst the green alpine meadows and rocky screes, giving birth to some of the biggest rivers on the Balkans.

For seven months of the year thick snow covers the mountain's alpine share and the heavy ice bounding the lakes reigns long after the arrival of spring. Then comes the time of flowers like Pulsatilla vernalis and Geum bulgaricum, the blue blossoms of Gentiana pyrenaica, the dark-pink of the heavenly Primula deorum - a local endemic - and many other rare or localized flower species.

A big variety of attractive birds occur in the alpine and forest areas of these mountains, including Alpine Accentor, Yellow-billed Chough, Balkan Shore Lark, Nutcracker, Hazel Grouse and Capercaillie, Tengmalm's and Ural Owls, White-backed Woodpecker, Red-breasted Flycatcher.

The three parks provide refuge to the Brown Bear, the Wolf and the Balkan Chamois.

Many traditional villages in these mountains are turned into open-air crafts and architecture museums, where one can feel what life used to be like a century or two ago. Medieval monasteries with magnificent murals and icons hide in the mountain recesses. The famous Rila Monastery - a site of the UNESCO Cultural Heritage - is the second biggest monastic complex on the Balkans.