Hidden parts of Macedonia 

Macedonia is a small country, rich in natural wonders and curiosities and with unspoilt nature as well! Many call it "the pearl of the Balkans" - its pearls are the magnificent lakes, the spas, the caves and the mountains. There are, however, beautiful and rare riches that are not well-known, although they can be easily found.

Believe it or not, we have works of art made by mother Nature that exceed human imagination. People tell tales about some of these, and legends are passed on from generation to generation. There is such a legend, for example, about the extraordinary area of Kuklica near Kratovo. And about the many-centuries-old stone pillars of Konopishte near Kavadarci, also called "the pyramids of Macedonia".

Some of the natural phenomena that Macedonia contains are the mystery of the spawning of the eels, as well as the phenomenon of the small river of Toni Voda, that goes through the chalky Mount Bistra. Another one is the Alilica cave, in the area around the village of Tresonche, near Debar. There are also the numerous lakes, waterfalls and entire galleries of stalactites and stalagmites.

Apart from the natural lakes, there are more then a hundred men-made lakes, rich in flora and fauna. In the mountains, below the peaks, there are also numerous mountain lakes that are only known to few. The Monospitovsko, Katlanovsko or Belchishko marshes are also not known to many, and it is known to even fewer people that in prehistoric times mammoths and dinosaurs lived there.

Macedonia is full of magnificent and exotic secrets - some are more famous, some are only known to few. Therefore, take a few days off and discover the hidden beauties of the Macedonian nature.

The stone town Kuklica

The “stone town”, is situated by the Kuklica village in the Kratovo area. According to the sources, the stone figures that are called Dolls by the local population are 10 millio

n years old. There are many legends and myths about their existence, but the most famous is the one according to which the stone figures are wedding guests that were cursed by a forsaken bride, and turned into rocks. There are 120 stone figures, one next to another, up to 10 me

ters high.

The legend has it that once upon a time, one boy from the

village of Kuklica (that is above the stone town) who couldn’t decide which girl to marry, asked two girls to be his brides. The weddin

g with the both of them was planned in a single day. There used to be a tradition that there mustn’t be two weddings in one day, because the brides must not see each other during their wedding - that was considered bad luck. One of the brides, not knowing about this tradition saw that there is another wedding in the same da

y and ran out of her house to see who is getting married. When she saw her boyfriend with another girl, she cursed all of them: "Let God turns all of you into rocks, even me" and all people turned into rocks.

According to another legend, the existence of the stone figures is

very different. There used to be a forest in this area, but due to wars it was burned down. Soon the area became a wasteland. The temperatures were very low and when the army passed through the wasteland, all of the soldiers turned into rocks.

But the scientists do not agree with the legends. According to them,

the stone figures were formed 10 million years ago, by tectonic erosion, from minerals that dissolve in water. As the time passed, nature created masterpieces. The local population says that every 5-6

years new figures appear.

MEGALITHIC OBSERVATORY KOKINO

Kokino is an important archaeological site and a MEGALITHIC OBSERVATORY discovered in 2001 by archeologist Jovica Stankovski in the northeastern MACEDONIA, approximately 30 km from the town of Kumanovo, near the village of Staro Nagoričane Latitude: 4

2.260000N Longitude: 21.850000E. It is situated 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen Summit and covers an area of a 100-meter radius. The site is more than 3800 years old.The oldest archaeological finds date from the Early Bronze Age. Finds from the Middle Bronze Age are the most numerous (mainly ceramic vessels, stone-mills and a few molds). An agglomer

ation from the Iron Age has also been discovered. The archaeo-astronomical res

earch was carried out by the Bulgarian astro-physicians A. St

oev and M. Mulgova and continued in 2002 by G. Cenev from the Republic of Macedonia.

Kokino consists of two parts. It includes special stone markers used to track the movement of the Sun and Moon on the eastern horizon. The observatory used the method of stationary observation, marking positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstice, as well as the
equinox.
Kokino has been nominated to be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.^[2]
The importance of the site was confirmed by the U.S. space agency NASA, which placed it on its list of ancient observatories

The official site for KOKINO click HERE

MATKA Canyon

The Treska canyon is vertically cut into the massive of Suva Mountain. The geological features of the park reflect in the hard carst ground in the area. The different carst formations in the canyon, such as the karrens, flutes, valleys, cracks, crevices and caves, have been formed by long term impact of the mountan rivers, as well as great temperature oscillations. In the surroundings of the Treska Canyon one can find dozens of caves. The most beautifu

l ones are the caves Vrelo (The Spring), Krshtalna (The Baptistery), and Ubava (The Beautiful One). Some of the caves are illuminated, and visiting is organized by an official guide. The diversity of dripstone adornments has been captured by well deployed illumination.

The caves are filled with numerous stalagmites, stalactites, stalagmates and dripstone pillars. The Treska Canyon is the most important alpine-climbing center near Skopje. The major climbing season in Matka begins in

spring, somewhere around the Easter holidays when visitors come from the countries all over Europe. The season continues over summer and fall until the end of November.

At the same time, the Treska Canyon is open for wild water kayaking. St. Andrew's Monastery is located on Lake Matka, 17 km away from Skopje. This monastery was built 1389 and is filled with frescos of a great artistic importance. Near Andrew's is the St. Nikola Shishovski Monastery, situated on top of the cliff above Lake Matka, thus giving the visitor a spectacular view of the lake and its surroundings. While there is no information when this monastery was built, it is first mentioned in the 17 th century. Unfortunately, the monastery was abandoned during the 18th century, only to be resettled the following century. It is interesting to point that there are three layers of frescos in St. Nikola's.

Close to both Andrew's a nd St. Nikola's is Matka Monastery from the 14th century. The monastery is located on the left side of river Treska, about 12 km from Skop je. The frescos of this monastery date from the 15th century, but they don't matc h those of Andrew's.

And much more...