Family-friendly Tour of Matka Canyon with Millenium Cross and Nerezi village

The tour starts in Matka canyon, visiting the monastery of st.Nikola Shioshevski, old boonkers, Milenium cross, the vilage of Nerezi with its old monastery st. Panteleimon and the ethno-vilage museum. It takes 6-8 hours walking (mostly trekking) the tour finishes in the middle of Vodno mountain parking.

The highlights are:

Matka is a canyon located west of Skopje, Macedonia. Covering roughly 5,000 hectares, Matka is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Macedonia and is home to several medieval monasteries. The Matka Lake within the Matka Canyon is the oldest artificial lake in the country. The canyon area is home to several historic churches and monasteries. St. Andrew's Monastery is situated in the gorge of the Treska River. Built in 1389 by King Vukašin's son Andrijaš, it contains frescoes painted by Jovan the Metropolitan.

Matka Monastery, or Monastery of the Holy Mother of God, built in the 14th century, is located on the left bank of the Treska. According to an inscription on the church, someone named Milica found the church in poor condition and without a roof in 1497. She replaced the roof, added new frescoes, built a portico and created a vineyard.

St. Nicholas Monastery is located on a cliff above the canyon and St. Andrew's Monastery. The date of construction of the church is unknown. The first mention of it was in the 17th century, during Ottoman rule. The iconstasis of the church was painted in 1645, while the western side was frescoed in 1630. The monastery was deserted in the 18th century. An archmonk found the church roofless in 1816 and attempted to revive it, though it was again deserted in 1897. The monastery offers a unique view high above the canyon.