LAC MATKA

This beautiful artificial lake (Езеро Матка/Ezero Matka) extends over 50 ^km2 and 10 km in length in the Matka canyon. This owes its name to its narrowness, which evoked for the ancient inhabitants a... womb(матка/matka in Macedonian). It was created on the river Treska with the construction of a dam and a hydroelectric plant in 1937. The Treska river has its source in the small Stogovo massif, near Mavrovo and the Albanian border. It then joins the Vardar north of Skopje, after a 132 km run. It forms here a lake with superb landscapes. This one is enclosed between impressive cliffs falling sometimes on more than 1 000 m height. If the place is very touristic, it is also an important biological reserve, not so much in the water itself but on the banks and on the edge of the cliffs where live for example astonishing lizards with the blue neck. The area around the lake is also home to 77 endemic species of butterflies and 20% of the flora is also endemic, meaning that certain plants and flowers are found almost exclusively here. The ten or so caves in the canyon are home to several colonies of bats.

Canoeing, boat touring or hiking. The northern part of the lake is easy to discover by water or on foot. Rental companies offer canoes, kayaks or paddles. Most visitors are satisfied with a short crossing to picnic areas not far from the tourist area. There are also excursion boats to the Vrelo cave, a natural wonder rich in stalactites, stalagmites and bats... which are constantly disturbed by groups of tourists. After this cave, the waters are suitable for swimming: the lake is quite cool, but it is much cleaner here than downstream, near the tourist area. Finally, the lake can also be discovered on foot by paths along the cliffs. These are quite steep and require good shoes, but they allow to visit medieval churches and small orthodox monasteries perched on the heights. There are also beautiful views of the canyon and the two small mountains that surround it: Mount Osoj (1,401 m), to the north, and Mount Suva (1,857 m), to the south. There are also trails under Mount Osoj. These are not marked, but in theory they allow to reach the other end of the lake of Matka 10 km to the southwest. Here the Treska forms another artificial lake, the Kozjak lake (13 km2), located 39 km east of Gostivar.