Let’s assume that you are in the Macedonian capital, you have already tried Macedonian grill and BBQ, you have walked in lovely old Skopje Bazar. Probably you had also jumped into Vardar River. You have done everything like typical Macedonian.
But now you want to visit something more like nature. If there are a monastery it would be a big bonus. So you meet Macedonian people and ask them “Where do you go for a walk in the nature during weekends?”. They will answer: “The canyon Matka”. So this is our destination – everybody goes to the canyon…
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- Old Bazaar Skopje
Dolna Matka
This is our destination, a village along the Treska River. It is about 18km from Skopje. We went by car but there are regular buses from Skopje, too.
“St. Andrew” Monastery
We left the car and started our long journey by the most famous trail in Macedonia, along Treska river. The road took us to the beautiful dam Matka. It lays between two rocks and is one of the most beautiful dams I have ever seen.
We keep going along a narrow path which took us to the medieval (1389) church of “St. Andrew” monastery. It is crowded with people around the church. There is a restaurant there and everybody has their lunch and drinks. We pass by the buzz and move along the path which is 5-6 km long.
Matka canyon
I don’t even know how to describe the gorge of Treska river. We step timidly along the narrow path by the stunning beautiful rocks. Boats with tourists ripple the calm lake for a while but soon it calms down again. We meet other people having a walk and enjoying the nature and sometimes we even rub in them because of the narrow path.
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The sun is burning but we are having a cool and shady walk. The steep slopes are bending over us, the path is carving in the rocks. Lizards flee and we keep walking. We couldn’t even reach the end of the path but the beauty of this place left us with a memory that warms us in the cold November evenings.
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- Matka canyon
Another option for accommodations is Skopje:
Booking.com
