Velgosti-Skrebatno in Galicica National Park

See https://mymacedoniablog.wordpress.com/ for more info about sightseeing and hiking in Macedonia

This hike starts in the village Velgosti near Ohrid and takes you through Galicica National Park to the Church of St Bogorodica of the village Skrebatno. It is about 18 km long with 1000 m ascent. Some parts of the hike are on small, sometimes a little bit overgrown trails and you need to keep an eye on the GPS track in order to make sure you’re walking in the right direction. But these small of—the-beaten-track trails, and the several churches that can be visited along the way, are exactly what makes this hike so attractive!

Most of the climbing is done during the first 5 km, which are therefore quite intense. Right at the start there is the possibility to visit the Monastery of St Petka in Velgosti, which is not included in this GPS track. If you are interested, there are several other churches around Velgosti that are worth a visit, among which the Cave Church St Bogorodica up in the mountains.

After less than 2 km you reach a fountain and the well-kept grounds of the Church of St Ilija. The church was closed, you probably would have to ask around for the key in Velgosti. At the spring and near the church there are signs pointing to the Church of St Peter and Paul. I think this is the same church that I saw during my hike from Resen to Ohrid (https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/resen-ohrid-in-galicica-national-park-55186505#) and this church is indicated with a waypoint. It seems a recently built church and I personally don’t think it’s worth the detour to visit it.

If it would not be so early into this hike, the grounds of St Ilija would be the perfect place for a picnic. There are tables and benches. But no worries, also the Church of St Bogorodica near Skrebatno, halfway this hike, offers good picnic opportunities.

The highest point of this hike is a small peak in Galicica National Park. To get to the peak basically is walking freestyle uphill, without a clear trail. It’s steep and tough but the views are rewarding. We had a short break here.

Once you descended from the peak, you start following 4x4 dirt roads. At a certain moment you have to leave the main dirt road and go left onto a less obvious road. I indicated this with a waypoint because it’s easy to miss this turn.

Near Skrebatno there are some springs. I had to walk a small circle in order to find the source. There’s not much more to see than water coming from the ground. The main spring is covered with metal and plastic, possibly to protect people or animals from falling into a hole.

Soon you’ll reach the grounds of the Monastery of St Bogorodica near Skrebatno. The fields around the church are very well taken care of, because of the festivities that yearly take place at August 28th. On that day, about 5000 people from Ohrid and the surrounding area are going to the church. A traditionally prepared lunch with broth from sheep meat and homemade bread is served and people are consuming it sitting on the fields. The church itself was closed when we were there. The location is definitely good for a picnic, there are benches and a spring with drinkable water near the church.

From there the trail takes you back to Velgosti via shaded forest trails. It’s still quite a long walk back and despite the shadow it was very, very hot when we did this walk. Before you reach Velgosti, there is the Monastery and Church of St Naum. We visited here before in 2008, when the place was under construction and at that time it seemed a monastery was being built. Now, in 2020, the lodging houses still seemed to be under construction. Also at this church there are benches and tables for a picnic, located on a wooden plateau overlooking Lake Ohrid.

In Velgosti you pass yet another church on the cemetery.

This was a very pleasant hike with a bit of everything: small trails, the peak in Galicica National Park, good views of Lake Ohrid, churches, forest, 4x4 dirt roads etc. It gets 4 out of 5 stars.