Central Balkan National Park

Central Balkan National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Panoramic view of Botev Peak and Raysko Praskalo Waterfall
Location	Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria
Coordinates	42°46′16.35″N 24°29′43.4″E / 42.7712083°N 24.495389°E / 42.7712083; 24.495389Coordinates: 42°46′16.35″N 24°29′43.4″E / 42.7712083°N 24.495389°E / 42.7712083; 24.495389
Area	716.69 km²
Established	1991
Governing body	Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria

The Central Balkan National Park (Bulgarian: Национален парк Централен Балкан) lies in the heart of Bulgaria, nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Mountains. Its altitude varies from 550 m. near the town of Karlovo to 2376 m. at Botev Peak, the highest summit in the mountain range. It was established on 31 October 1991. The Central Balkan National Park is the third largest protected territory in Bulgaria, spanning an area of 716.69 km² with total length of 85 km from the west to the east and an average width of 10 km. It occupies territory from 5 of the 28 provinces of the country: Lovech, Gabrovo, Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. The national park includes nine nature reserves covering 28% of its territory: Boatin, Tsarichina, Kozya Stena, Steneto, Severen Dzhendem, Peeshti Skali, Sokolna, Dzhendema and Stara Reka.

The Central Balkan National Park is one of the largest and most valuable of the protected areas in Europe. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Park as Category 2. The national park and eight of the nine nature reserves are on the UN list of Representative Protected Areas, and four of the nature reserves are included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. It is a full member of the WWF-led PAN Parks.