Overview Pirin is situated in south-western Bulgaria and is part of the
Rila–
Rhodope Massif. To the north, the
Predel Saddle and mountain pass at altitude separates it from the Rila mountain range. To the east, Pirin borders the
Razlog Valley, the valley of the river
Mesta and the
Momina Klisura Gorge that separate it from the Rhodope Mountains. To the south, the
Paril Saddle () divides it from the
Slavyanka mountain range. To the west, Pirin reaches the valley of the river
Struma, including the
Kresna Gorge and the
Sandanski–Petrich Valley, that serve as a divide from the
Vlahina,
Maleshevo and
Ograzhden mountains further to the west. The main orographic ridge extends from the north-west to the south-east. Reaching an altitude of , Pirin is the second highest mountain range in Bulgaria after
Rila () and the eighth highest in
Europe after the
Caucasus, the
Alps,
Sierra Nevada, the
Pyrenees,
Mount Etna, the aforementioned Rila, and
Mount Olympus.
Division Geologically and morphologically Pirin is divided into three parts: north, central and south, which differ sharply in size and altitude.
North Pirin is the largest of the subdivisions and the mountain's downright part. It is the most often visited part of the mountain, the only one to have an
Alpine appearance, featuring many glacial lakes, resthouses and shelters. North Pirin is itself divided into two zones by the Kabata Saddle and the valleys of the Banderitsa and Vlahinska rivers. The marble ridge is narrow and very steep, reaching a width of only at the ridge
Koncheto (). The southern zone also has marble ridges, such as the Sinanitsa ridge with its
homonymous summit (). It is composed of crystalline
schists and granite, as well as of marbled limestone in the south. Because of the
karstic relief there are no lakes; the rivers springing up from Central Pirin are short and with low water volume. It is largely covered by deciduous forests. The highest peak is
Orelyak (), while the other summits are under .
South Pirin stretches from the Popovi Livadi Saddle to the Paril Saddle and is the lowest and least rugged part. The highest peak is
Ushite at , although
Sveshtnik () had long been considered the highest summit. It constitutes 19% of the mountain's territory. Despite being characterised with relatively flat ridges, its lateral slopes are steep. South Pirin is composed of granite with marbled limestone in the periphery. It lacks glacial forms and is covered with forests. Like Central Pirin, the springs are short and with low water discharge. == Geology, relief and peaks in Pirin ==