Skopje, North Macedonia
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Dotted with ridges and peaks that deliver seasonal scenery, from lush slopes to snow-capped rock formations, North Macedonia offers one of southern Europe’s last chances to tread the road less traveled.
North Macedonia, which declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and was formerly known as Macedonia, is a hidden gem in the Balkans, where a layered history from the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires to the Yugoslav era, combined with the omnipresence of mountains, has created a range of regional cultures with an unwavering commitment to tradition and heartfelt hospitality.
This landlocked country, located directly north of Greece, is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, and its dramatic topography is central to its identity.
“No matter which direction you want to drive, when you get in the car, there are mountains in front of you and mountains behind you,” said Frosina Pandurska Dramikjanin, who lives in the capital Skopje and works on rural development and community revitalization. “I think this is the best way to describe my country.”
The country of 2 million people, slightly larger than Vermont, has yet to experience the tourist crowds that suffocate much of southern Europe each summer. Travel industry officials are wary of attracting such large numbers of tourists, which could have a negative impact on residents’ quality of life. But they know the country has a lot to offer and there is still room for growth in the tourism sector.
Alexander Bogoevsky, owner of Sustainable Adventure Travels, a travel agency that reinvests a portion of its profits into infrastructure in the communities it works with, said thousands of tourists drive through the country each year on their way to nearby hotspots such as Greece and Albania. He wants them to know that Macedonia is a destination in itself.
“During the summer, around 1 million passengers pass through Macedonia. They don’t stop,” Bogoevski said. “I think there’s a lot more to come.”
Monasteries, spring lakes and hiking
Much of what you see in North Macedonia lies along the sides of small winding roads that cut through the countryside along valley floors.
These routes are dotted with perfectly preserved Byzantine monasteries, some of which are over 1,000 years old. There is plenty of ornate woodwork inlaid with mother-of-pearl, gold-plated chandeliers, and ancient frescoes. The best known is Bigorski Monastery. Here, affordable guesthouses welcome weary trekkers from nearby Mavrovo National Park. The glistening ruby and topaz treetops on a winding October drive would rival any New England postcard.
Sveti Naum, which has stood on the edge of Lake Ohrid since 905, is another well-known monastery and worth a visit. The sparkling waters of Lake Ohrid, south of Mavrovo on the Albanian border, are North Macedonia’s crown jewel.
Every summer, tourists from all over the Balkans flock to Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounded by mountains. Some come for ecotourism. This spring-fed lake is home to approximately 1,200 species of plants and animals. Others come for a more traditional tourist experience, like shopping for freshwater pearls in the bazaar streets of Ohrid, a historic town on the lake’s northeast shore, or sipping spritz cocktails at beach bars along the shoreline. Another beautiful national park, Galicica, is bordered on the east coast by the magnificent Lake Prespa, just to the southeast of the park.
More than 100 miles to the north, the Shar Mountains lie on the northwest border with Kosovo, and avid hikers and mountaineers will find a number of challenging routes. Some mountain villagers still practice the ancient shepherd practice known as transhumance, which involves herding sheep to villages in the winter and seasonal migrations to mountain peaks in the summer.
Pandurska Dramikujanin is grateful that this increasingly rare practice still exists in her country, and believes that conscientious tourism could help sustain it. However, she is wary of the excessive commodification of traditional ways of life.
“In other countries, I have seen very bad examples of how mass tourism has destroyed local culture,” said Pandurska Dramikjanin. “We want to retain tourists who truly understand our nature and culture.”
Natural beauty and preserved cultural traditions
Anna Raver runs her agritourism business, Spirit of Prespa, on just five hectares, or about 12 acres, of her family’s apple orchard north of Lake Prespa. Small family farms are common in Macedonia, and the Labor Party argues that they allow farmers to spend more time tending to their crops.
This attention means the average Macedonian diner is gobbling up produce that would seem extraterrestrial when sold in American supermarkets, including three-foot-long leeks, softball-sized tomatoes, and red peppers you can smell from around the corner.
Mr. Labor is also working to build rural tourism infrastructure across the country, helping other farmers increase their household incomes through agritourism. She prefers manageable crowds of tourists, where she can give each person her full attention, just like an apple tree. Large groups will not receive the same level of local hospitality.
“I don’t spend enough time with them… because I can’t pay attention to everyone. And when a group leaves, I’m not happy with myself because they haven’t seen the best version of the farm,” said Raver.
The same mountains that are the basis of North Macedonia’s natural beauty have also acted as physical barriers that have created a unique cultural region, thereby fostering and sustaining traditions that have died out elsewhere. Mr. Raver said he could visit a region a little more than 90 miles away and still not understand half the food on the table.
Although cuisine varies greatly from region to region, travelers visiting North Macedonia can expect some commonalities in the cuisine. Usually, they don’t use heavy spices to take advantage of farm fresh ingredients.
Ajvar, a creamy red pepper spread found throughout the Balkans, is treated with special reverence here, and in the fall families toil from dusk to dawn on smoky backyard grills to make a year’s worth of jars. Rakia is a high-quality Balkan moonshine that Macedonians usually make from grapes and is served neatly with heaping salads, grilled meats, and oven-baked bread.
North Macedonia’s sunny climate makes it one of the region’s largest wine producing regions, particularly concentrated in the Tikves region. Other items travelers should look for include borek, a buttery filo pastry often served at breakfast, and kevapi, grilled meat. Other local specialties include pastirmalya, a pork and egg boat similar to Turkish pide, and a hearty soup known as korbas.
Visitors looking to enjoy a variety of traditional cuisine need look no further than their nearest kafana. In the local pub, customers are packed shoulder to shoulder in front of a platter big enough to feed a village. At a kafana, local bands often roam mariachi-style from table to table, playing their favorite songs to paying patrons. Macedonian film director Mitko Panov sees the perseverance of kafana musicians as a symbol of the persistence of Macedonian grassroots culture.
“Many countries had already lost their grassroots entertainment,” Panov said. “How many places in America are there where you can go to a cafe and have live music, and you pay someone and say, ‘Here, sing this song, I love this song, you can sing it well,’ and they can support themselves?”
Kafanas abound in Skopje, especially in the cobbled corridors of the capital’s Deval Malo district and the nearby Karpoš and Bunjakovec districts in the north of the country.
Cable cars and maze-like bazaar
Nearly destroyed by the 1963 earthquake, Skopje was part of a larger international reconstruction effort that focused on traditional Yugoslav atrocities. The city’s Old Bazaar combines its brutalism with centuries-old Ottoman design and new Las Vegas-style neoclassicism. Visitors looking for everything from fresh produce to dive bars to antiques will find it in the bazaar’s winding alleys. You may get lost along the way.
Cafe tables such as Bazaar are full from early morning until late at night, and matcha latte is popular as well as Turkish coffee.
This medium-sized city punches above its size in terms of cultural events such as jazz, film, and music festivals. Much of this is a holdover from the Yugoslav era, when the government heavily subsidized cultural centers and arts programs.
For travelers seeking a break after a long night of kafana and hopping through the city’s many cocktail bars, the countryside just beyond Skopje has plenty to offer, including the cable car to Vodno Cross, a steel cross atop a mountain with panoramic views of the city and distant mountains. Visitors can also kayak across Matka Gorge’s billiard-green waters and visit the valley’s Mars-like caves, complete with surrealist dripping stalactites and a regular stop on the world-class cave diving circuit. The ambitious hiking tours on offer take tourists up all three mountains, cruising the spine of the mountains.
There’s a lot to love, Pandurska-Dramikjanin says.
“This is a multi-layered rural experience with some of the most beautiful natural scenery we have ever seen in such a small country.”
