The Vlahini Lakes is a group of four lakes in Pirin

Pirin

The Pirin Mountains are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren the highest peak, situated at . The range extends about 40 km northwest-southeast, and about 25 km wide. Most of the range is protected in the Pirin National Park...

, southwestern Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 situated at 1.5 km to the southwest from Vihren

Vihren

Vihren is the highest peak of Bulgaria's Pirin Mountains. Reaching 2914 m, it is Bulgaria's second and the Balkans' third highest, after Musala and Mount Olympus. The peak is located in Pirin's northern parts. The easiest route is from the Vihren chalet , reaching the summit from the south...

. The group consists of four lakes the highest of which makes 80% of their total area. The lakes are named after the village of Vlahi, located at much lower altitude.

• The first and largest lake is the Big Vlahino lake, at 2,302 m. Its size is 400x245 m, with surface area of 23.4 decares and depth of 13.4 m. The amount of water is 421,000 m³.

• Below is situated at 2,300 m the smallest lake with size of 68x50 m, area of 3 decares, depth of 8.4 m and volume of 10,000 m³.

• The third lake is placed at 300 m of the Big Vlahina lake at the same altitude as the second lake. It is elongated (145x100 m) but very shallow- up to 0.8 m. This is why the amount of water is 4,400 m³.

• The smallest lake (2,291 m) is also elongated (245x56 m) and has a surface area of 10 decares. The amount of water is only 9,000 m³.

There is trout in the lakes. The water pours out as Vlachina river which is a tributary of the Struma

Struma

The Struma was a ship chartered to carry Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to British-controlled Palestine during World War II. On February 23, 1942, with its engine inoperable and its refugee passengers aboard, Turkish authorities towed the ship from Istanbul harbor through the Bosphorus...

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