We had heard from friends that a visit to The Bigorski Monastery of St. John the Baptist  in Mavrovo National Park was well worth a visit. We had been to Mavrovo ski-ing a few times but never visited the surrounding areas outside of winter, so we decided to take an overnight trip and headed West.

Our first stop, after driving 2,5 hours with the last hour being windy mountain roads was at the monastery. The Bigorski Monastery of St. John the Baptist  is an 11th-century Eastern Orthodox monastery, it is fully operational today with an active monastic brotherhood. It is open daily to visitors and pilgrims (modest dress required). There was a hub of activity as the grand dining room (no photo’s allowed) was being set up to receive around 80 visitors who were coming to attend a service in the church there. Apparently it is possible to apply to attend a service and then eat with the priests afterwards although it was unclear how you can organise this and if it is open for everyone.

History of the monastery: Founded in 1020 by Archbishop John of Debar following the discovery of a miraculous icon of St. John. It was destroyed under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, rebuilt in the 18th century, and restored after a major fire in 2009.

The church itself was overwhelmingly beautiful with fresco’s and icons decorating every available space within. It was an orthodox church in its fullest glory but was strictly no photographs inside the buildings. It was also very hot even though it was quite high up in the mountains.

Duf Waterfall

After walking around and admiring how remarkably clean the monastery was—and noting that it’s maintained to standards rarely seen in North Macedonia—we drove the short distance to Duf Waterfall in the small village of Rostuša. Aside from stumbling upon a traditional wedding, complete with lively singing and dancing to celebrate the bride and groom, the village itself was quiet

Leaving the village behind, we took a small gravel path heading upward past the cemetery, bearing right and letting the sound of rushing water on our left guide the way, not only could we hear the water we could feel the coolness coming up to meet us. Back in Kočani, it had been 34°C, but as we approached the stream fed by the waterfall, the temperature fell to a refreshing 25°C.

The trail follows a stony pathway lined with a somewhat makeshift wooden railing along the drop-off to the water,  not to be confused with something that would stop a fall! We had to test every piece of railing before grabbing hold of it as support and found out that most of the railings were loose pieces of wood! Halfway up, we paused to dip our toes into the icy stream before continuing toward the upper section. Up ahead, we spotted a series of wooden bridges and naturally questioned their stability. It turned out they had been maintained by simply layering fresh wooden planks directly over the older, rotting ones. Despite their rustic appearance, crossing them was completely hassle-free.

When we reached the top of Duf Waterfall, we were surprised by how strong the flow was for August—it must be an incredible sight during the spring melt. Slippery spots aside, the well-trodden 2.1 km round-trip path made for a perfect, easy afternoon walk.

If you want to do a longer hike around the waterfall you can head over to My Macedonia Blog which gives detailed accounts and GPS routes of many different hikes throughout Macedonia, with lots of tips of what to do and not to do whilst hiking in Macedonia.

Lake Mavrovo

We then drove toward Lake Mavrovo to hunt down a spot to stay for the night. Having visited a few times during the ski season, seeing the valley stripped of its winter blanket and instead summer green slopes was somehow a stunning surprise! We eventually booked a room at a hotel tucked deep into the mountainside—though I’ll hold back the name, as the experience was… let’s just say “memorable,” and not one we’ll be repeating!

The next morning, after a surprisingly restful sleep and breakfast paired with a view, we headed down to the famous sunken Church of St. Nicholas. Built in 1850, it served the village until the valley was flooded in 1953 to create the artificial lake. The icons and interior were safely moved, leaving the stone shell to alternate between disappearing beneath the waves and reappearing when the water recedes. Standing beside its half-submerged, weather-worn arches, with trees and greenery growing out the roof was an incredible sight. Apparently when the water levels are really low you can walk around inside, for us this wasn’t possible as the water was too high to reach the church.

As it was still quite early and the heat was not oppressive we decided to trade the lakeshore for the ski slope, hiking straight up the open, grassy incline. What looks effortlessly glideable on a chairlift in January turns into a grueling vertical slog under the August sun. I have – as you can read in my blog “summer on the pistes” been persuaded to actually walk down a ski-piste but this took it to a whole new level! As the slope steepened dramatically beneath our boots and the mid-morning heat began to radiate off the mountainside, every step up felt like a workout. We pushed far enough to earn a sweeping, panoramic view of the surrounding area—capturing a few incredible photos—before wisely agreeing that sweat-drenched heroics weren’t worth the effort and heading back down.

Continuing our journey around the quieter side of the lake, we made a pit stop at Black Stone to visit the obligatory cross. Parking under the shade of the trees, we followed a gravel trail down to the water’s edge. The views across the mirrored lake were magnificent, though we were stunned to see remnants of recent bonfires—an unbelievable risk given the dry heat and forest fire dangers.

We wrapped up the drive through the sleepy village of Leunovo, where the road traffic consisted mostly of wandering cows, a couple of horses, and a handful of cyclists, which sealed the deal: next time, we’re definitely bringing our bikes to explore this side of the lake on two wheels.