At their settlement over the Balkan Peninsula the Slavs compared the mountain with their god Perun and named it after him - Pirin. The park occupies an area of 40 332 hectares. It is state owned. On the territory of the park there are two natural reserves - Bayuvi Dupki and Yulen. Pirin is one of the most interesting mountains because of the big altitude and the diversified relief which is favourable for the development of a varied plant and animal life. In the park there are about 1 300 types of higher plants, 300 types of lichens and a great variety of algae. There are about 18 local, 15 Bulgarian and many Balkan endemites/ species typical only for the geographical region/. The symbol of Pirin Mountains is the edelweiss.
On the territory of the mountain there are three vegetation zones - forest, sub-Alpine and Alpine. The forests in the forest zone are mainly of beech, fir, spruce, white and black pine. Typical representatives of the sub-Alpine zone are the dwarf pine and the Siberian juniper and a great variety of grass types. In this zone there are many lakes and brooks which are favourable for the growth of algae. The Alpine vegetation zone is covered with grass types and rocky cover.
There are about 2 090 species and sub-species of invertebrates of which 300 rare species, 214 endemites, 175 relic species and 15 species included in the international lists of endangered species.
Until the present moment there have been discovered 6 species of fish which accounts for 6 % of all the freshwater fish in Bulgaria. Of special interest among them are the bow trout, the mountainous grey mullet, and the common eel. The amphibian reptiles are represented by 19 species of which 8 amphibian and 11 reptiles. There are about 160 species of birds which can be seen on the territory of the park. From the mammals there are 45 land species and 12 species of bats.
Due to its uniqueness the Pirin Natural Park was included in the UNESCO Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1983.
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