Skopje, Macedonia (pronounced Scope – E – ah) is a real gem that isn’t widely discovered by many tourists like other Eastern European capitals. It’s a charming city with great culture (incredibly cheap ballet, symphony, and opera!) and architecture. The best day trip from Skopje is a day trip to Matka Canyon. It’s surprisingly close to the city but the nature and small monasteries are great to visit.
Best Time to Visit Matka Canyon
Like most places, I recommend visiting on Shoulder Season (the months before and after July – August). It’s best to visit mid-week or if visiting on the weekend, visit earlier in the morning. Weekends in the summer are the busiest time, and you will have no peace. My friends and I did this trip on October 31st and had lovely weather and very small crowds. Keep on reading for tips what to do and how to get to Matka Canyon.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Matka Canyon Boat Trip
There are two Matka Canyon boat trips on offer – a 25-minute ride for 200 Macedonia Dinars ($4), or 400 Dinars ($8) for a one hour ride that includes a visit to the cave. This way will show you quite a bit of the canyon and Matka Lake but my only complaint was the boat driver was texting the entire trip! So much for texting and driving.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Matka Canyon Kayaking
It’s also possible to rent kayaks for 130 dinars per ½ hour, and less for incremental time. The kayaking on Matka Lake looks quite easy – very little flow in the canyon.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Matka Canyon Hiking
There is a rocky hiking trail that is cut out of the canyon wall. There are great views around every corner. The trail isn’t difficult but the steps are very uneven. Only do this if you have good shoes (no flip-flops!)
Alternatively, you can pay a boat to take you across the river to take the short, but extremely steep, 45-minute climb to the Nikola Church. If you want to visit the interior of the church, ask before you go. My friend did this hike and found the church was closed. This hike can be very slippery if the trail is wet or you’re visiting in autumn when there are many leaves on the ground.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Visit Vrelo Cave
If you do a motorized boat trip, you can visit a really beautiful cave. Our boat stopped and the boat driver started up a (loud) gas generator to illuminate the cave. We thought it was very worth the visit to this cave that has nice stalactites and stalagmites, as well as a small lake inside. There doesn’t appear to be any hiking trails that come to this cave and I’m unsure if you can visit with a kayak. At minimum you would need your own light source or get lucky to visit at a time when one of the boat tours is here to see it with lights.
A big surprise of Vrelo Cave is that it’s home to one of the deepest springs in Europe and is famous for cave divers. Can you see why the cave formation below is known as the “pine cone”
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Visit the Dam
If you’re interested in dams, you can check out the dam visitor’s center.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Visit a Small Church
In addition to the Nikola church that involves a hike, you can also visit Church St. Andrew, located near the main visitor sites (Restaurant, boat rides) of Matka canyon. There is a small fee to visit this church, built in 1389.
Things to do at Matka Canyon – Eat at Matka Canyon Restaurant
If you just want to sit, relax, and enjoy the views, you can have a meal or drinks at the Matka Canyon Restaurant, part of the hotel. I enjoyed a coffee with a view!
There’s also a restaurant in the small village next to the Matka bus stop. This restaurant overlooks the river and the artificial whitewater rafting course below the dam.
How to Get to Matka Canyon – Skopje to Matka Canyon
An easy and cheap way to get to Matka Canyon is to take the local Bus #60. It starts from the main Skopje bus station (the local section, outside of the International Bus Station where you get onward buses to Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, and beyond) and it goes directly to Matka Canyon where you get off at the very last stop. Make sure you buy your bus ticket before boarding the bus, as most bus drivers don’t sell tickets. Purchase a refillable bus pass and load at least 300 Macedonian Dener (About $5.50 USD) in credits to Matka. These passes can be purchased from various kiosks, but in the main bus station, they can be purchased from the old bus on the sidewalk near the restrooms. Alternatively, you can catch this bus from various stops on Bulevar Partizanski Odredi (the main road in front of the Skopje City Mall). The ride to Matka takes less than an hour. From the bus stop at Matka, it’s an easy 20-minute walk to the Dam and the start of the lake. Warning about the bus pass: 300 Deners is only a round trip to and from the canyon. We were told it was good for 3 one-way trips but when we tried to use it a third time, we found the full value had been used. Luckily the bus driver stopped long enough for us to load a little more money, because we almost got a fine when a ticket inspector boarded the bus at the next stop.
If you are coming by car (your hotel can arrange a driver, or you can negotiate with any of the many taxi drivers around town), there is a small car park outside the canyon. This lot was packed the day of my visit when there weren’t many tourists so I can’t imagine what it might be like during a summer weekend day.
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Matka Canyon – Where to Stay
If you’re not in a rush to get back to Skopje and beyond, consider staying the night at the charming inn at the start of Matka Canyon, appropriately named Matka Canyon Hotel. “Hotel” is an overstatement but it’s a cute guesthouse right on the lake, with an attached restaurant. The advantage of staying here is waking up in the morning and enjoying the calm of the lake before all the tourists arrive for the day. Check Rates and Availability
Alternatively, if you only want to do a day trip to Matka canyon, there is a wide range of accommodation from hostels to apartments to 5-star hotels in Skopje city (Check Rates and Availability).
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1 comments
I’m off to Macedonia in the summer so this is really useful (& not nearly as much out there as for most European destinations). Thank you for sharing!