March 2021 found us sojourning in the city of Ohrid, on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia. A streak of freezing, snowing, bleak days ended with a brilliant, halcyon Sunday. During the previous bitter week, we’d been gawking in awe at the high, snow-capped mountains that make Galicica National Park looming imposingly over the city. Today was finally the perfect day to venture up there on a short hiking trip.
Early morning, we left our accommodation in central Ohrid and began striding eastwards. At the easternmost end of the city, by the big roundabout where Makpetrol gas station is located, there leaves a stair path heading straight up the mountains of Galicica Nation Park. Trailhead coordinates: 41.1063, 20.8158.
After a steep ascent for a couple of hundred meters, the stairway led us to a paved road running along the mountain slope. The first nice views of the lake were there already manifested. We followed the road south for a few more hundred meters and forked off a right curve on a trail (coordinates: 41.1027, 20.8186) bound for the village of Ramne.
In Ramne Village
The views broadened steadily as we hiked up. The trail led us to Ramne after 2.5 km and 200 m of ascent. It was a cute village, offering some nice photographic opportunities. We walked through it and got on the dirt road leading further east and up the mountain.
This was quite a steep part, ascending 270 meters in 1.3 km of distance. At 41.1070, 20.8468, we left the road for a southbound trail. Somewhere about there we met the snowline. The snow was getting steadily deeper as we proceeded, and at points it reached full knee-depth. Nearly a km after we left the road, we turned left onto another trail, fully buried under a meter of snow.
Shortly after its beginning, we encountered a spring where we stopped for a refreshment. Spring coordinates: 41.1018, 20.8470. We climbed for some 300 more meters of elevation and reached that lovely viewpoint (coordinates: 41.1035, 20.8572), which was our final destination.
An impromptu lean-to was set there, and almost the entirety of Lake Ohrid lay wide below. We cleared off a patch of snow on the rock edge and sat to enjoy the gorgeous scenery. We had a quick brunch, a brief drone flight, and left before our bums freeze to numbness.
We took the same way down until the spring, whence we followed the previous trail further south, towards the next village.
In Velestovo Village
This trail led us down pretty smoothly and offered some better views of Ohrid City and the mountain ridge above. It took 3.3 km to make it to the village.
Velestovo was a larger, livelier, and more popular to day-trippers village than Ramne. Whereas we had hardly encountered a soul along the entire hike so far, this village now was relatively crowded with visitors. It featured a few nice churches, picturesque rustic houses, a few inns that looked closed for the time being, and plenty of livestock. Cows, goats, sheep, and poultry ran all over the place untroubled.
We got on the village’s main road and began descending back to the city. The road, too, was pretty busy with local Sunday excursionists who came to enjoy the serene nature by cars, bicycles, or foot. The sun was also pretty low by then and dyed the marvellous landscape with the warmest hues. The ubiquitous almond trees were in full bloom and transfused the setting with a soul-soothing aura of spring.
We were back at home in the late afternoon, and after a hasty shower, we headed to the Irish pub at the city prom for a pint, pub grub, and sunset-gazing.
Stays and Activities in North Macedonia
Accommodation and Activities in North Macedonia
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