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Published: July 22nd 2023
Skopje
Vardar River that runs through Skopje From Montenegro, I came to Skopje in North Macedonia.
It was going to be one of the shortest trips I have done to a country, just 5 days, exploring two cities, the capital Skopje and Ohrid which is well known for Lake Ohrid.
After reaching Skopje at an ungodly hour and getting some rest, I set out to explore the city, focusing on Macedonia Square, the Old Bazaar and the Fortress.
The first thing that struck me about Skopje was the number of statues in the city. It's estimated the city has more than 500 statues, I must have seen about 50 in my short exploration.
The most famous statue is that of Alexander, right at Macedonia Square.
The Old Bazaar, with lots of jewellery and Filigree shops was an interesting place.
What I loved most about Skopje was exploring the fortress after it had shut down for the day and witnessing an amazing sunset.
The next day, I set out to Matka Canyon, a short distance from Skopje for a day trip.
The canyon itself is beautiful, but the fun thing to do there is to Kayak on it. A 6KM Kayak
Skopje
Statues galore in Skopje over 2 hours was enough to whet my appetite for a sumptuous meal.
While Montenegro had been a slightly tougher place for vegetarian food, Macedonia has enough options. I tried Ajvar, Potted Beans and Rice with a really spicy pepper, all traditional Macedonian food. The flavours were really yummy especially of Ajvar (mash of Red Pepper, Eggplant).
The best part of Skopje was the guy who ran the hostel I was in. He spent a lot of time explaining Macedonian history and current situation and it gave a very different perspective to the country. I was especially thankful for it given the short time I was spending in the country, it helped me understand the country from a local's perspective and hence better.
Next, I arrived in Ohrid (again thankful to my hostel manager for giving me a ride), a place on the south of Macedonia, close to the Albanian border.
Ohrid, a town on the shores of Lake Ohrid, has a old town to it's credit, which is a fun place to explore.
But it's Lake Ohrid that is the star attraction. The lake is nearly a 360 Square KM surface area and has
Skopje
Old Bazaar of Skopje lovely blue and green colors. About 20% of the lake is fed from underground streams from another lake which keeps its waters pure. It's also the deepest lake in the Balkans, at the highest depth it's more than 200 meters deep and has an average depth of 150+ meters.
But the colors, that's the special aspect of this lake to me. I came to North Macedonia primarily for this lake and am glad I did.
Short as it has been, Lake Ohrid, the Sunsets of the places I have been to and my local acquaintances have been a very good primer of North Macedonia for me. Some day, I will probably do a longer trip here.
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