Matka Lake & Canyon, Skopje

Matka gorge and lake are wonderful, and I'm glad I was persuaded to go there. Not only the gorge and lake themselves, with the monastery, but also the journey there and the peaceful village communities (of Moslems and Christians living together) that you go through on the way. You can eat there, or just get something to drink while you watch people on the other side of the gorge coming down the trail from the cross on the mountain. You can hire a boat.

Matka is a natural paradise. There's a project especially dealing with vulture-conservation.

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Lake Matka is a man-made lake by damming the river Treska, about 30 minutes by car or bus (number 60) from Skopje. It lies in a steep ravine of the Treska Valley and is quite panoramic. It´s nice walking in this area!

Around the lake you will find several marked trails, leading to churches, and the ruins of Marko's City.

The link below will take you to my Matka page, with several hikes described in detail.

It is located in the Canyon of Matka, near Skopje, on the right bank of Treska River, next to the springs of Koritiste. The total length of the cave composed of two halls is 176 m. There is a lake in the cave, with a length of about 30 m and width of 2 to 4 m.

The Canyon Matka covers an area of around 5.000 ha and is located 15 km southwest of Skopje. By its morphogenetic characteristics, it is a breakthrough gorge. Karstic forms deserve particular attention here - ten caves with their length ranging between 20 and 176 meters and the two vertical chasms with a depth up to 35 meters. Matka . Out of the total number of 1000 plants, 20 % are endemic or relic species. Among Tertiary relics, the most significant are the kosanini violet (Viola kosaninii) and nataly's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae). Two new species of real spiders and 5 false scorpions have been discovered in the area of Matka. In the Canyon, 119 species of daily and 140 species of nightly butterflies have been recorded. It is also important to mention that there are 77 species of Balkan endemic small butterflies in the area of Matka Canyon, while 18 other species are new to the science. The Canyon of Matka is on the List of CORINE sites.

Visit Matka lake and the Matka Monastery
The man-made Lake Matka is located near Skopje and is used for energy production. The St. Nikola Monastery (17-th century), the Matka Monastery (15-th century), and the Church of St. Atanasie (16-th century) are all situated around the lake

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Matka is very nice place, close to Skopje. I remember here coming to celebrate the Worker's day on almost every May 2nd.

U must visit Matka. Is near Skopje.
There is a full of people durring the w/e in warm day or for holidays ! Going for fishing,sunning,swimming and visiting some church`s and monastery ! !

The very beautiful place near Skopje named Matka.
It is an artificial lake called Matka. It has very beautiful surrounding and many beautiful places to see and take photograph of.