Travel to Macedonia with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Macedonia with travel insurance from Essential Travel

Travel to Macedonia

Macedonia was once part of the former Yugoslavia and is now looking towards a bright future as one of Europes newest republics. Unfortunately, with a population comprised of a mix of Slavs, Turks, Serbs, Bulgars and Albanians, it is still troubled by racial and ethnic tensions and violence. However, the small republic has some lovely national parks and interesting cities worth seeing, and is especially appealing to the most adventurous of travellers.

The capital of Macedonia is Skopje, a proud city lying on the banks of the Vardar River in the heart of the Balkans. Historically, the capital has been plagued by disasters, with the worst being the earthquake of 1963, which destroyed much of the city. However, most of it has since been rebuilt and there are plenty of minarets, mosques, and Turkish-style domes in the old town. Additionally, you’ll want to visit the 15th century Turkish Baths and the ancient Oriental Bazaar. Skopjes best museum, the Municipal Art Gallery, is near the Turkish Bridge; while the Museum of Macedonia, filled with regional artefacts, is also of interest.

Other sights in Skopje include the Church of Sveti Spas, which houses a fascinating collection of icons, many from the 1700s. Nearby is a local mosque, Mustafa Pasha, and across the street are the ruins of Fort Kale, a structure dating from the 10th century.

Two hours outside of the capital, with a scenic train ride offering the best transport, is the city of Bitola, which is home to many relics. The best are the Roman ruins of Heraclea and a Christian palace.

From Bitola, there are many fascinating towns within easy reach by bus. An older town and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Ohrid is 1 hour, 30 minutes by road from Bitola. It is charming and filled with quaint houses, sidewalk cafés, and rickety fish restaurants. In addition, the town is built surrounding the worlds second-deepest lake (Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest). There are also some notable churches in Ohrid, such as Sveti Kilment and Sveti Sofija.

Nature lovers will find plenty of beauty in Macedonia, with four national parks covering an area of 130,000 hectares. The oldest is Pelister National Park, which has been protected since 1948. The five-needle Pelister pine is the only such species in the world and fills this park of 1,600 hectares. The heavily forested Mavrovo National Park started out with 11,750 hectares but was expanded to 73,100 hectares in 1952. Mount Galichica National Park is located between Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, and is home to 19 different forest communities. Meanwhile, Jasen Forest Reserve covers the mountain massifs of Suva Gora, Suva Planina and Karadzhica.

Unfortunately, the political situation in Macedonia is unstable and presents a real threat of potential ethnic violence. Many foreign embassies advise their citizens to only travel here with great caution and at their own risk.

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