RILA MONASTERY THE RILSKI MONASTERY ST. IVANRILSKI IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE MONUMENTS OFTHE BULGARIAN ARCHITECTURE AND ART. IT IS THEOLDEST INHABITED CLOISTER IN OUR COUNTRY. IT HASALSO BEEN THE BIGGEST LITERARY CENTER IN BULGARIASINCE THE OTTOMAN YOKE. THE MONASTERY WAS FOUNDEDIN THE 10TH CENTURY BY THE BULGARIAN HERMIT IVANRILSKI WHO LATER WAS CANONIZED AS A SAINT. THEMONASTERY WAS ERECTED ON ITS PRESENT PLACE IN THE14TH CENTURY AS AT THE BEGINNING ONLY ONE DEFENCETOWER WAS BUILT. THE SUCCEEDING MOST IMPORTANTPART OF THE BUILDING OF THE MONASTERY WAS THEPERIOD 1816 1870 WHEN WITH FUNDS COLLECTED FROMTHE WHOLE NATION AND WITH THE HARD WORK OF MANYMASTER BUILDERS, WOOD CUTTERS, ICON PAINTERS,SCULPTORS AND ARTISTS, THE BIGGEST BULGARIANMONASTERY, WHICH IS PRESERVED IN THIS APPEARANCEEVEN TODAY, WAS BUILT. IT IS ANNOUNCED AS ANINTERNATIONAL MONUMENT BY UNESCO. THE MONASTERYIS LOCATED IN RILA MOUNTAIN, 129 KILOMETERSSOUTH WESTERN FROM SOFIA, AND 4 KILOMETERS FROMTHE TOWN OFRILA.......................................90 KMSKI TRACKS BOROVETS IS THE OLDEST SKI RESORTDATING BACK TO 1896. NOWADAYS, BOROVETS IS THEBIGGEST FIRST CLASS MOUNTAIN RESORT IN BULGARIA.IT IS SITUATED 1350 M ABOVE SEA LEVEL IN RILAMOUNTAIN. IT IS 73 KM AWAY FROM THE CAPITAL SOFIA AND 126 KM AWAY FROM THE CITY OF PLOVDIV.THE SKI TRACKS ARE OVER 45 KM LONG, WITHDIFFERENT LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY. THEY ARE GROUPEDIN THREE REGIONS SITNYAKOVO, MARKUJHIK, ANDYASTREBETS. THE SKI TRACKS ARE KEPT IN EXCELLENTCONDITIONS AND THERE ARE SIGNS IN DIFFERENTLANGUAGES. THE SKI SCHOOL IN BOROVETS IS WORLDFAMOUS, WITH OVER 200 SKI INSTRUCTORS. THE SKITRAINING HAS 5 LEVELS, GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL WORK,4 HOURS DAILY, FROM 6 TO 12 DAYS. AFTERCOMPLETING THE TRAINING YOU RECEIVE ACERTIFICATE. IN BOROVETS THERE ARE 10 RENTALCENTRES FOR SKI, SKI EQUIPMENT, SLEDGES, ANDALSO YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR EQUIPMENT HERE. THERE AREA LOT OF FACILITIES FOR TOURISTS BEAUTIFULHOTELS AND COTTAG