# Chepelare: private ski lessons & instructors

> A Rhodope town 10 km from Pamporovo: a fast chairlift climbs Mechi Chal to 1,873 m for long forest runs with about 700 m of vertical, on a shared pass.

- Region: Rhodope Mountains, Smolyan Province
- Country: [Bulgaria](https://alpinepal.com/en/ski-instructors/bulgaria)
- Time zone: Europe/Sofia
- Currency: EUR
- Coordinates: 41.7232, 24.68532
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q405807

Page: https://alpinepal.com/en/resorts/chepelare
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

## About Chepelare

Chepelare is a small town in the Rhodopes, on the road from Plovdiv to Pamporovo, with a winter-sports pedigree out of proportion to its size: it is the home town of Ekaterina Dafovska, the 1998 Olympic biathlon champion, and it has a factory that makes skis and snowboards.

Its ski area is Mechi Chal. A fast four-seat chairlift with a mid-station climbs from the edge of town, at about 1,150 m, to the 1,873 m summit in about nine minutes, and the runs come back down through the forest with about 700 m of vertical, much more than in Pamporovo. The main Mechi Chal piste is a little over 3 km long and covered by snowmaking, and a gentler run of 5 to 6 km winds down the side; in all, sources give between about 14 and 20 km of pistes.

Since 2016 Mechi Chal has been run together with Pamporovo, with one lift pass for both and a ski bus between them, and Pamporovo's operator is preparing plans for snowmaking across the whole of Mechi Chal.

## Where lessons start

Mechi Chal has little terrain for first days — apart from the chairlift there is only a short tow — so first-timers usually start in Pamporovo, ten kilometres away on the same pass, and come here once they can link turns. For an improving skier, the long runs from the summit are ideal mileage.

## Getting there

Plovdiv airport is about 70 km away, a little over an hour by road, and Sofia airport about 220 km. Chepelare is on the main road from Plovdiv to Pamporovo and Smolyan, served by the buses that run between them; Pamporovo is 10 km further south.

## Resort areas

- Mechi Chal

## Instructors at Chepelare

_No instructors have joined here yet._

## Qualifications required in Bulgaria

Teaching for payment in Bulgaria requires the Ski teacher licence (ски учител), issued by Ministry of Tourism (National Tourism Register).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chepelare harder than Pamporovo?

Longer rather than harder. Mechi Chal has about 700 m of vertical against Pamporovo's 450 to 500 m, and its main run is over 3 km from top to bottom, so it rewards skiers with stamina and linked turns. Beginners are better off starting in Pamporovo; one pass and a ski bus cover both.