Location
Bulgaria is situated in the middle of the Balkan peninsula. The country population is 8.4 million and it occupies an area of 110.099 sq. km , sharing boarders with Greece and Turkey in the South, Macedonia and Serbia in the West. The River Danube separates it from Romania in the North and its natural boarder in the East is Black Sea.

Bulgaria ranks 15th in size among European countries and it is situated in the center of a region in a process of dynamic development. Within a range of 750 km from Sofia there is population of over 90 million people in 15 countries. Located on the crossroad between Asia and Europe Bulgaria is a knot of international railway, motorways and communicational links, connecting it with its neighbors and beyond to Western Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Water ways - the Danube River and Black Sea offer good communications with Central Europe and other continents.

Relief
The country relief is most varied but may be divided into several main areas.
The Danubian hilly plain occupies about 1/3 of the country territory and extends from the Stara Planina range North to the Danube river and East to the Black Sea coast.

Stara Planina mountain system extends from east to west approximately through the middle of the country. It includes the Fore-Balkan and the main part of the Stara Planina (Balkan) Range with an average width of 50 km. To the South of Stara Planina lies a transitional zone of mountains and valleys , extended to the Rila-Rhodope mountain system. The Rila-Rhodope mountain system covers area of 22 000 sq. km and has 3 sub-areas - The Rhodopes, The Ossogovo and Belassitsa, and the Rila and Pirin mountains. The highest summit of this sub-region as well as on the Balkan peninsula is Moussala (2,925 above sea level).

The Black Sea coastal area deserves special mention. It extends over 378 km and has two big navigable bays - Varna and Bourgas bays. Its northern part is low and marshy, while the central part is high and steep, with many reefs. South of the town of Nessebur and the bay of Bourgas the coast slopes again and provides favorable conditions for summer holiday-making. Along the coast there are wide beaches of fine sand.

Climate
Its climate is continental with four distinguished seasons in the North and Mediterranean in the far South. Summers are long and hot, generally dry. Winters are cold and snowy in the North and quite mild with little snow in the South. In Bulgaria there is no best season, because every season has its own charm and beauty.

Maximum temperature in summer could reach 40 Co , while the winter temperature in the open northern plains and in mountains could drop down to -20 Co .

While the month with the highest precipitation is May, the driest period is August - September.

Rivers
Length of the rivers in Bulgaria varies in the range of 100 - 300 km as well as varies the water level. With the highest level during the spring and early summer, most of the rivers level go very low in August-September. Main rivers are Iskar, Maritsa, Struma, Mesta and Tundja. While their potential for power production is relatively low, most of them are used for irrigation.

The only navigable river is the Danube which flows along the northern part of the country. The Danube is an important transport link to the Central European countries and Russia and Ukraine, as well as main source of water for irrigation of the Danube Hilly Plain.