The
Balkan mountain range (
Bulgarian and ,
Latin Serbian Stara planina, "Old Mountain"; ; ) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the
Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the
Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between
Bulgaria and
Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to
Cape Emine on the
Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is
Botev at 2,376 m, which makes the mountain range the third highest in the country, after
Rila and
Pirin. The mountains are the source of the name of the Balkan Peninsula.