Caving in Macedonia

Freitag, September 30, 2016
As a born Macedonian I know that Macedonia has plenty of caves. Many of them are discovered but some are still not discovered yet. Caving is not just in Macedonia not a big travel activity. But many people are fascinated about caves and what they have and all this mysticism around them. Growing up in a city with many caves around me caving was a type of activity I was doing since from young age.

Macedonia according to official data has in total 346 caves. But among the people there is a rumor that actually more than 500 exist through the country. I will write about some of them where they are located, what you can see and how to get there.


PESHNA CAVE - MAKEDONSKI BROD



Located about 6 km from Makedonski Brod (south west Macedonia) the Peshna cave is one of the hugest and most amazing caves in Macedonia. Even famous New York Post stated that this cave is same as the Helm Deep Cave from the popular Lord of the Ring movie.

On the entrance of the cave there is medieval fortress. When the snow is melting a strong creek is going through the north part of the cave. To get there you drive on R1303 road from Prilep to Makedonski Brod. Than you  continue on R1106 in direction to village Devich.

On around 2,5-3 km from the spot where you turn onto R1106 you'll see from the right site. There is around 500 meters of dirt road to the Peshna Cave. The enviroment is amazing and you will love the view from the first second. MORE HERE


VRELO CAVE -SKOPJE /MATKA 



Located in the canyon of Matka near Skopje the capital of Macedonia, the Vrelo cave is one of the most beautiful in Macedonia. The cave is separated in 2 caves. The one underwater is still not completely discovered but it is thought that the cave is maybe 330 meters deep which will made it one of the deepest caves in the world. Italian divers visited the site few times to explore the underwater cave but the "end" ist still not discovered (Also famous media Balkan Insight reported about the possibilty for a "deep record").

The other part of Vrelo which is on the ground has an amazing scenery inside. From the entrance of the cave there is an amazing view on the canyon Matka. To get there you need to catch a bus from Skopje or by car, direction Saraj. From there road sings will lead you to the spot. 

When you cross the steel bridge, follow the road for another 2 km (the road is not wide and in a poor state, winding through a village). Turn left again and follow the road to a parking space (you can’t miss it, it’s the only one). With bus no.60. The route 60 is the bus to Matka. 

But, as a big city bus, the route only connects the Train station - Holiday Inn - Partizanski Odredi - Saraj- Matka. The site is definitely worth to visit and is one of the hot-spots beside the capital. In the summertime you will find countless numbers of tourist there.  MORE HERE


SLATINA CAVE - MAKEDONSKI BROD



Through the narrow hole at a depth of 1.5 meters, where you have to crawl through the water, is the entrance into the largest Macedonian cave “Slatin Spring” (“Slatinski Izvor”), located in the area of Slatina village, fifteen miles away from Makedonski Brod.

The entrance of the cave, which has been known to be 3,000 m long, is located on the left side of the confluence of the Slatina river in the river Treska, on 495 meters above the sea level. Тhe cave is consisted of a long channel, which branches out in several longer and shorter canals.

So far 800 meters of length of the cave have been examined, 705 meters of which belong to the main cave channel. In separate locations of the main channel the cave pillars and stalactites dominate, and in the biggest cave hall (approx. 20×15 meters) larger stalagmites can be found.


CAVING IN VELES MACEDONIA - PESHTI COMPLEX



As a person born in Veles this area I know most. On 7 km from the city there is the beautiful Babuna river where a complex of pre-christian cave churches is located, called Peshti. The Peshti caves are overlooking the small Babuna river canyon, and the amazing view from the top of the hill is stunning.

To get there is very easy, you get to the entrance of Babuna river recreational zone and from there 2 km by foot through some amazing nature scenery. When you get to this hidden place is just like a place from another world….There are many of this types of caves all around the place.


GONOVICA CAVE and UBAVICA  CAVE (BEAUTY CAVE) - GOSTIVAR



The longest cave in Macedonia at 1.2km, is Gonovica south of Gostivar. Which has an underground river and the highest underground waterfall of 7 meters. Near here is also the Ubavica cave, almost a kilometer in length and boasting an underground waterfall.

Those are just few of the many caves for caving in Macedonia. If I write about all of them it will take me probable a week so I would like to invite you here to explore all of them. Maybe we dont have a white sandy beaches but we have a cave beauty that cant match with anything.

NOTE: (This post was published by a Macedonian user in the Lonely Planet Forum/2016. We catched it up, made some corrections - If you like to read the original post - Follow this direct link to the Lonely Planet Forum Thread)