Tourist destination 1: Ohrid, Struga, Resen and their surroundings
Most Important Attractions in the Destination
- Ohrid Lake and surrounding nature
- Prespa Lake and surrounding nature
- Golem Grad
- Town of Ohrid (including cultural and religious sites)
- Galicica National Park
- Hiking, mountaineering, biking
- Rural and traditional experiences
Municipality of Ohrid
Ohrid, with its natural, cultural, spiritual and historical features, is the most developed tourist and cultural center, not only in the Republic of Macedonia, but in the Balkans and wider in Europe. These values had been recognized by the world, thus Ohrid and Ohrid Lake, many years ago were inscribed on the UNESCO list as a rare cultural and natural heritage. A true rarity is the claim by the world scientific community that in Ohrid there is a 7000 of continuous live and the remains of civilizations are noticeable in over 250 archaeological sites discovered so far.
Tourism related Web site of Ohrid Municipality; has lots of information that can be used by tourist:
Multimedia – Photos, Videos, Songs
Archaeological explorations of the site Suva Chesma (necropolis Trebenishta) and more
Alternative – rural tourism in the Ohrid surroundings
https://macedonia-timeless.com/eng/cities_and_regions/cities/ohrid/
On the territory of the municipality of Ohrid there are more than 100 Orthodox churches out of which 60 active, 10 Islamic religious buildings - mosques and one Catholic Church. The seat of the Debar - Kichevo Diocese of the MOC is located in Ohrid.
On the east side of Ohrid Lake, south form town Ohrid there are villages / tourist neighborhoods that represent a kind of tourist centers, such as Velestovo, Dolno and Gorno Konjsko, Lagadin, Eleshec, Peshtani, Gradishte, Trpejca, Ljubanishta, St. Naum, and next Ohrid area is bordering with Albanian side, and places Tushemisht and Pogradec.
Due to a very large number of the facilities and apartments, the Municipality of Ohrid have prepared a detailed web site with all necessary data concerning all registered and official accommodation facilities at www.ohrid.com.mk and online reservation is possible in English at: http://www.visit-ohrid.com/Default.aspx ; http://www.ohrid-apartments.net/
Potential types of tourism: Monastery-church-mosques-archaeological sites’ visits, outdoor sports activities, beaches-sunbath-swimming, water sports, festivals, historical and cultural sights, Mountain-picnics, air-spa, eco-tourism, biodiversity, traditional cuisine, adventure, mountaineering / hiking, mountain biking, fishing and many more.
Municipality of Struga
The most important characteristics of tourism in the Municipality of Struga are: Favorable geographical location and relatively well developed road infrastructure, Mid-continental climate with high insulation throughout the year, The extraordinary stock of animal and plant life with endemic forms of organisms, Natural spaces that are preserved and protected, Rich history and heritage with a significant number of archaeological, cultural and historical sites, Mountains with very favourable conditions for winter tourism development, A distinguished tradition in hospitality and folklore, Healthy and traditional foods, Cultural events with original and long-lasting character.
Struga is located at the foot of Jablanica Mountain, in the Ohrid-Struga valley, on the northern shore of Lake Ohrid, directly on the site where the Black Drim River flows from Lake Ohrid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8TVYmp2dE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqVsPxVvCtc
https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B0
Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) - the world's largest poetry event held every year in the city of Struga. The event is a major hallmark of the city as a tourist center and is attended by at least 200 world poets. The poetry festival, among other things, also receives the greatest recognition for its entire poetry activity, the "Golden Wreath" and the "Miladinov Brothers" award for best poetry book in Macedonian.
Discover the best Struga has to offer on TripAdvisor
On the west side of Ohrid Lake, south form town Struga there are villages / tourist neighborhoods that represent a kind of tourist centers, such as Kalishta, Elen Kamen and Radozda.
Potential types of tourism: Monastery-church-mosques-archaeological sites’ visits, outdoor sports activities, beaches-sunbath-swimming, water sports, festivals, historical and cultural sights, Mountain-picnics, air-spa, eco-tourism, biodiversity, traditional cuisine, adventure, mountaineering / hiking, mountain biking, fishing and many more.
Municipality of Resen
Prespa region is situated in the southwest part of the Republic of Macedonia and southeast part of Albania and includes Prespa, Ohrid and Korca valleys. The region borders with Greece on its southeast side. On its southwest side in Albania it shares the boundaries with Gjirokaster County, and shares the boundaries with Berat and Elbasan Counties on the west side, while in Macedonia it borders the Municiplaty of Bitola on the west, the Municiplaty of Struga on the east and the Municiplities of Debarca and Demir Hisar on its north.
On the west side of Prespa Lake, south form town Resen there are villages / tourist neighborhoods that represent a kind of tourist centers, such as Oteshevo, Stenje and Konjsko and on the East side of the lake are Asamati with Pretor, Slivnica village and beach, Krani, Brajcino, Ljubojno, Dolno Dupeni Beach.
The Prespa region’s nature is its incontestable value, and its preserved natural wealth, combined with the diversity of flora and fauna with many protected species, make it especially attractive for nature lovers. This mountainous area is rich in waters; it has its natural lakes, Prespa Lake, Ohrid Lake and several clean rivers. The region is a cradle of natural resources that are protected within the natural parks of Pelister, Galicica, Prespa, and Drenova Fir.
Gastronomy – Tastes of the Prespa Region
Apples are traditional products in Prespa. Prespa apples have a specific taste, smell and other characteristics which are typical for the Prespa Valley. The apple is mostly used for the production of apple juice, ciders, pies and different sweets, marmalade, jams, etc. and they are also consumed dried. The most present types of apples in Prespa Valley are: Idared, Golden and Red Delicious, Mutzu, Ionagold etc.
To make the stay as pleasant as possible, the region of Prespa offers a range of accommodation facilities that will please different tastes and suit various budgets. The region has a number of hotels, rural households, monastery accommodation facilities, bed and breakfast facilities, apartments, mountain lodges and camps.
Attractions – Getting Familiar with the Prespa Region
There is a number of activities that can be enjoyed while spending time in this area. They range from specific summer holidays, to hiking, cycling, paragliding, swimming, food and drink tasting, visiting cultural events and enjoying traditional festivals such as Ohrid Summer Festival, poetry festivals, folklore festivals, and many more.
Routes and tours – Discovering the Prespa region
Beautiful Prespa region will be best discovered if you take the range of the trails, routes and tours and experience it in a specific way that fit for your tastes and demands. See in the brochure about Galichica, Pelister and Baba Mountains’ trails and many more tours.
Potential types of tourism: Monastery-church-mosques visits, outdoor sports activities, mountain-picnics, air-spa, eco-tourism, biodiversity, adventure, mountaineering, mountain biking, hiking, mountain tourism, traditional cuisine.
Municipality of Vevcani
Until 1953 Vevcani was a municipality, together with the villages of Oktisi and Gorna Belica. From 1953 to 1956 she joined the municipality of Velesta and a little later joined the municipality of Struga. Since then, applications have been made three times to establish a municipality in 1969, 1981 and 1990. The municipality was restored in 1996 with the adoption of the Law on Territorial Organization of Macedonia, making Vevcani an area of 35 km2 and 2500 inhabitants, the only municipality in Macedonia with one settlement. The municipality started functioning in 1997 with the formation of its organs and bodies after the local government elections.
Vevcani is mostly known for the Vevcani Carnival. The Vevcani Carnival is a traditional event that has been held for 14 centuries. It is held each year on January 13th and 14th. The masks are divided into upper and lower neighborhoods. The upper neighborhoods gather at the beginning of the village, and the lower neighborhoods slightly above the others. When all the masks are gathered with the drums and zurli (music instrument), they head to the middle of the village to represent their masks, where there are many people eagerly awaiting the masks. When the masks are presented to the crowd, than they go to visit people named Vasil, Vasko, and so on. In the evening there is music at the playground and everyone is gathered there. The next day all the masks gather in the middle of the village and burn the masks. That represents chasing away the evil of the past year. Also Vevcani Carnival (or Vasilica) is known as celebrating the Old New Year. Then everyone dances around the fire and rejoices. That ends the Vevcani Carnival. Over 500,000 people come to this carnival, including foreigners who come especially for the day.
Vevcani is abundant with many natural rarities and sites. A special highlight is the water, which can be seen everywhere, but is most dominant in the locality "Vevcani Springs" - a monument of nature. Of great natural wealth are the forests and wildlife in them, as well as numerous picnic sites such as:
- Area "Golina" with glacier lake "Lokva" at 2000 m asl
- The area "Small meadow", with a special mark that gives the cold clear spring water at 1600 m asl.
- The place "Jankov Kamen" (Jankov Stone), the most beautiful and most visited picnic spot, rich in water at 1200 m asl.
Vevcani is also known for its cultural richness, such as the old architecture that Vevcani brought from different parts of the world that made a living. Vevcani has 19 churches, monasteries and chapels, and the central position is the church of St. Nikolaos was consecrated in 1876, where the iconostasis made by the famous Dico Zograf with the typhus, as well as the monastery of St. Spas located at an altitude of 1310 m asl.
Potential types of tourism: Carnival-events, Monastery-church- visits, outdoor sports activities, mountain-picnics, air-spa, eco-tourism, biodiversity, adventure, mountaineering, mountain biking, hiking, mountain tourism, horse riding, traditional cuisine.
