How does it feel like?
What did I feel standing next to one of the oldest living creatures on Earth?
What did I feel laying my hand on his bark?
How does it feel like?
Reverence before the majesty of the Creator! Complete and captivating euphoria before the miracles with which he has gifted us! And a huge thank you for being alive and having the opportunity to lay my hands on one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. A being who, with his 1300 years of life on this earth, has seen and experienced a lot, really a lot.
You will find Baikusheva Mura in Pirin Mountain at 1930 meters above sea level.
In the thick forests that covered the slopes of these ashy marbles, it continues to grow today.
The moor is located within the borders of Pirin National Park and is an important specimen of the black moor (Pinus leucodermis).
Its age is estimated at more than 1300 years, which makes it the oldest coniferous tree in Bulgaria, as well as one of the oldest trees in the world.
Its approximate dimensions are:
height 26 meters
trunk diameter 2.48 meters
circumference 7.80 meters
Why Baikusheva?
It is named after the forester Konstantin Baikushev, who discovered and described this specimen in 1897.
Murata is an evergreen coniferous tree of the pine family, distributed in the mountains at an altitude between 1000 and 2100 meters above sea level. In Europe, the white and black mulberries are common. The white mulberry is a five-needle pine with light and strong, durable and resinous wood. The species is endemic to the northern and central part of the Balkan Peninsula, in Bulgaria it is found mainly in Rila and Pirin. Black mulberry is a two-needle pine with hard needles.
The oldest tree in Bulgaria and in Europe
At present, the Baikusheva mura is not the oldest tree in Bulgaria. Officially, it is the second oldest tree after the Granite Oak in the village of Granit, Starozagorsko, which is 1,679 years old.
But how is the age of trees determined?
Pressler's drill
The age of trees is determined with an interesting and simple device called a Pressler drill.
The Pressler drill is a botanical probe used to date the age of trees. This specialized tool extracts some of the wood tissue from a living tree with relatively minor injury to the plant itself.
It was invented by Max Robert Preßler (Maximilian Robert Preßler, 1815 – 1886), a German forester and engineer.
The tool consists of a handle, an auger bit, and a small, semi-circular metal tray (the core extractor) that fits into the auger; the latter is usually made of carbide steel. It is most often used by foresters, researchers and scientists to determine the age of a tree. This science is also called dendrochronology.
The operation allows the user to count the rings in the core to reveal the age of the examined tree and its growth rate. After use, the tool is disassembled: the auger and the extractor are inserted into the handle, which makes it extremely compact and easy to carry.
From the tourist information center of NP "Pirin" in the city of Bansko, we learned more about the manipulation of the Baikush wall, carried out in the summer of 2023.
Visitors report seeing one of the tree's huge and severely overhanging branches cracking. The conscientious and responsible employees of the Pirin National Park react quickly! They inspect the place and decide to cut the cracked branch, because if left as it is, it could cause more serious consequences to the old woman, endangering her life. The branch was cut and pieces of it were brought to the tourist information center of the NP "Pirin" in the city of Bansko.
Here is an excellent visualization of the age of the Baykusheva wall, which I took especially for you at the tourist information center of the Pirin National Park in the city of Bansko.
How to get to the city of Bansko?
Bansko is a city in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Bansko municipality, Blagoevgrad district.
Bansko is located at the foot of the Northern Pirin at 927 meters above sea level. It is 56 kilometers from the regional town (about 56 minutes by car).
The river Glazne flows through Bansko.
The climate in the area is mountainous and allows the retention of the snow cover from December to April, and the alpine nature of Pirin Mountain provides excellent conditions for professional and amateur skiing.
Bansko is a stop on the Septemvri - Dobrinishte narrow gauge railway route.
Bansko stands at:
156 kilometers (about 1 hour and 51 minutes by car) from the capital
146 kilometers (about 2 hours and 30 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
512 kilometers (about 6 hours and 23 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
396 kilometers (about 4 hours and 30 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
How do you get to Baikusheva Mura within the boundaries of Pirin National Park?
Baikusheva mura is located right next to the road leading from the city of Bansko to the "Bunderitsa" and "Vihren" huts. The place is located about 14.5 kilometers southwest of Bansko and can be reached in about 36 minutes by car.
You can leave your car in the built-up parking lot and head west, where you will see numerous information signs.
Baikusheva Mura can be reached by a route made of wooden stairs starting from the parking lot to the "Bunderitsa" hut.
The built stairs are slightly steep, but extremely comfortable for climbing and subsequent descent.
The wooden steps cross the asphalt road leading in the direction of the "Vihren" hut and continue up to the tree.
You should not forget that you are in the middle of the Pirin National Park and in no way should you pollute the nature or cause any harm!
A panoramic platform with wooden benches has been built near the Baykusheva wall.
The entire route from the parking lot to the panoramic platform takes about 10 minutes with normal walking and taking pictures. The road is easy and extremely pleasant and is accessible for the whole family.
The nearest landmark, which is only a few hundred meters from the parking lot, is the "Banderitsa" hut. It rises in the middle of beautiful nature and is a great place to relax and eat. It can be reached by continuing from the parking lot up the mountain and in about 5 minutes you will be at its entrance.
From here, the asphalt road continues in the direction of Vihren hut.
As you travel from the city of Bansko in the direction of Vihren hut, look for a turn-off on the side of the road, located next to the incredibly beautiful, fresh and impressively noisy river Demyanitsa.
Demyanitsa River
Demyanitsa is a river from the Mesta basin, which collects the waters of six lake groups - Vasilashki, Valyavishki, Prevalski, Tipitski, Kirkamski and Gazeiski lakes. Under the name Valyavitsa, it originates from the Valyavish Lakes at 2,400 meters above sea level. It initially flows west, but after passing through the Tiyatsite area, it heads straight north. Its catchment area is estimated at 37 sq. km. The average slope is 102 per mille, that is, for every kilometer of linear length, the river descends by more than one hundred meters. Near the "Demyanitsa" hut, it receives two large tributaries - the Vasilashka River on the left, and the Gazeiska River on the right. After that, two more rivers flow into it - Kirkamska on the left and Yulen on the right. This makes it a relatively full-water river with a flow rate of about 1.5 cubic meters per second.
Above Bansko, Demyanitsa merges with the Bunderitsa river, and the two together form the Glazne river. The total length of the river Demyanitsa up to the confluence with Banderitsa is about 14 kilometers.
Here, enjoy it and feel the freshness of the mountain!
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
the special photo album with moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
Comments