Hiking Trails

Trail Description

Enter the village from the main road until you reach a sharp U left turn. Continue on this road on the left up to the main part of the city. Continue the road to until you reach a right turn that leads you out of the village to the south and then into the river valley. From here the road goes along the river through the valley. After about 20 minutes you will encounter the smaller river flow into the larger river on the left. Here, follow the smaller river towards the valley up to the left. After about 100 meters the road will start on the left side of the river. Follow it up the river to the pass leading down to Brod. Up the road, you will find a spring where you can fill your bottles with water.

Before reaching the top of the pass, there is the shepherd's hut where a large number of Sharri dogs stay. Keep enough distance to be safe as Sharri dogs can be very territorial. Once you have gone beyond the pass, follow the mountains down to the left. There you will see a rock quarry from the distance and walk towards it. Then you will find the old trail to FYR Macedonia. At this point, you can either walk down the steep slope of the ski trail to Arxhena hotel if you are staying there, or continue following the old trail to the north that easily leads down to Brod village. Do not forget to look for the chamois living on the rocks in the vicinity of Arxhena hotel. They appear in the morning and late afternoon. A small restaurant called Ramce near the river (before arriving at hotel Arxhena in the direction coming from Brod) is a perfect place to relax and observe the chamois. Ask for binoculars from the owner. They also serve delicious lamb, so stop there when you return from hiking. Do not forget to call in advance because they need one hour to prepare the lamb properly (phone 029-285-119). They work only during the summer, but the landscape, cold drinks, chamois observation and fresh meat are something that should not be skipped.

STARTING FROM BROD: (I see that you have ignored my advice!) Just follow the instructions outlined above from the bottom. If you are leaving from Brod, it is best to turn right across the river right at the entrance of the town to start climbing the old trail to FYR Macedonia. If you leave hotel Arxhena you will have to hike up the ski slope, which is dusty, hot and very steep. Be careful not to follow the very damaged trail towards the icy lake in the south. Instead, after climbing to the level above the hotel, turn to the west and go high above the mountains where the road is narrower and made by the sheep. Do not worry too much about the road at this point, just go high above the mountain's pass and you will see where you need to go.