Hiking around the most beautiful villages in Macedonia
One day tour
Departure from Skopje.
Visiting village Gari (one of the 10 most beautiful villages in Macedonia). This village, part of the Debar municipality, located in western Macedonia is about nine kilometers south of Lazaropole, 20.5 kilometers east-southeast of Debar, and 50 kilometers south of Mavrovo in the Bistra mountain massif. Тhis village is one of the more picturesque and culturally significant villages located in the Bistra massif such as Galičnik (Galichnik), Janče (Janche), Lazaropole, Kičinica (Kichinitsa), and Tresonče (Tresonce). Gari is one of the Mijak villages located in the Mijačija area (Radika River area). The Mijaks are famous for their skills in wood carving, architecture, animal husbandry, and painting icons. The village is also very close by is the Deer Leap Bridge (Elesnki Skok) that spans across the Radika River.
In village Gari, we have time for a break for coffеe or teа, and relaxing In the wonderful nature.
After the break, we are heading to the village Lazaropole.
Village Lazaropole is situated on a plateau at Mount Bistra and surrounded by beech and oak forest at 1,350 m altitude, it is one of the highest settlements in the country.
The village is named after a local medieval hero, Lazar, who according to legend was the sole survivor of a Turkish attack on his village. The rest of the townspeople were killed in a cave where they had sought refuge, while Lazar, the only survivor, crawled outside and built a new town.
There are about 400 houses in the village. The older ones reveal the traces of the Mijaci highland building style. The village was the birthplace of numerous authors, educators, carvers, teachers, fresco and icon painters, and constructors
We have an interesting hiking tour before us to the top Sokolec. After the hiking tour we are back in Gari or Lazaropole for a Macedonian national lunch.
Then we will visit the river Mala Reka with its own unique Elen Skok bridge named after a local legend.
After that, we will visit some of the oldest villages of the region, and a short stop to village Jance.
After a full day of adventure and much clear air in our lungs, we are returning to Skopje.