Explore the national parks of Macedonia

Mavrovo National Park is the largest of the three national parks of the Republic of Macedonia. It is located in western Macedonia and covers an area of ​​73,088 hectares. And it is the largest of three national parks in Macedonia, which also include Pelister and Galicica. Mavrovo National Park was declared in 1949, its geographical position is 41° 40’N and 20° 46’E. Within the park there are mountains: Korab, Desat, the southwestern spurs of Mount Shar, most of Bistra and the northern parts of Krcin. The central part of the Mavrovo National Park covers the valley and basin of the Radika River. The artificial lake Mavrovo is also located on the territory of the national park.

There are 30 picturesque caves in Mavrovo, including the Sharkova Dupka cave near Rostushe. Mavrovo also has Lokuv, the lowest glacial lake in Macedonia. The picturesque canyon of the beautiful Radika River gives the park a special beauty. Many ravines, steep slopes, rocks of different shapes and waterfalls create a diverse and specific landscape of Mavrovo. Within the Mavrovo National Park there are more than 52 mountain peaks over 2000 meters high, of which the most famous are the Medenica peak of Mount Bistra, Velivar, Sandaktas and others. Of particular importance for the Mavrovo National Park is the Golem Korab peak (2764 meters above sea level), which is also the highest peak in the Republic of Macedonia.

Pelister National Park is a national park in the municipality of Bitola, Macedonia. The park is located in the Baba mountain range and covers an area of ​​171.5 square kilometers (66.2 sq mi). The park's elevation ranges from 927 to 2,601 m (3,041 to 8,533 ft) above sea level and is filled with exquisite flora and fauna. Among the flora elements, the presence of the five-needle pine molica, Pinus peuce, is especially significant - a unique species of Cenozoic age, present only on a few mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. The beauty of the landscape is complemented by diverse wildlife: bears, roe deer, wolves, chamois, deer, wild boars, rabbits, several species of eagles, partridges, red-billed jackdaws and the endemic Macedonian pelagonia trout.

Pelister is the oldest and second largest national park in Macedonia after Mavrovo. It is one of the country's leading tourist areas as it is a famous ski resort, along with Ohrid, Prespa, Dojran, Popova Cap and Krusevo. From Pelister you can see the Pelagonia Valley, Lake Prespa, the Nidzhe, Galicica, Jakupica mountains and the city of Bitola. Pelister is one of the southernmost mountains in the Balkans and has an alpine character. Pelister is also famous for its two mountain lakes, called the Eyes of Pelister. The Big Lake is at an altitude of 2,218 meters (7,277 feet) above sea level, and the Small Lake is at an altitude of 2,180 meters (7,150 feet). Many rivers originate here. The climate in Pelister National Park is varied.

Galicica National Park is located on Mount Galicica, which is part of the Sara-Pind mountain range. Due to its exceptional natural beauty and extremely rich and endemic flora and fauna, the Macedonian part of the mountain was declared a national park in 1958. The park covers an area of ​​227 km2 between lakes Ohrid and Prespana and extends in a meridional direction. The main geological surface on most of Mount Galicica is composed of Paleozoic metamorphic silicates covered by 500-550 m of massive limestone horizons that have a spongy structure and are highly porous. The massif has a developed topography with large and deep valleys and an extensive mountain ridge, which in the southern part of Galicia reaches a height of more than 2000 m.

Flora and fauna are important values ​​of the Galicica National Park. Representatives of various floristic types live in this area. They are found on steep and vertical cliffs, rocky areas and scree, or in shallow or deep soil. This diversity of relief and soil substrate, as well as other environmental factors, led to the appearance of various floristic forms that are very rare or unique to this space.

The flora is represented by more than 600 floristic species, of which more than 170 are woody vegetation. Such diversity cannot be observed on other mountains of the Republic of Macedonia. This applies not only to the Republic of Macedonia, but also to a much wider area. On the territory of the Galicica National Park, the diversity of plant species and environmental conditions have created a large number of floristic communities.