Matka

The Treska canyon is vertically cut into the massive of Suva Mountain. The geological features of the park reflect in the hard carst ground in the area. The different carst formations in the canyon, such as the karrens, flutes, valleys, cracks, crevices and caves, have been formed by long term impact of the mountan rivers, as well as great temperature oscillations. In the surroundings of the Treska Canyon one can find dozens of caves. The most beautiful ones are the caves Vrelo (The Spring), Krshtalna (The Baptistery), and Ubava (The Beautiful One). Some of the caves are illuminated, and visiting is organized by an official guide. The diversity of dripstone adornments has been captured by well deployed illumination.

The caves are filled with numerous stalagmites, stalactites, stalagmates and dripstone pillars. The Treska Canyon is the most important alpine-climbing center near Skopje. The major climbing season in Matka begins in spring, somewhere around the Easter holidays when visitors come from the countries all over Europe. The season continues over summer and fall until the end of November.

At the same time, the Treska Canyon is open for wild water kayaking. St. Andrew's Monastery is located on Lake Matka, 17 km away from Skopje. This monastery was built 1389 and is filled with frescos of a great artistic importance. Near Andrew's is the St. Nikola Shishovski Monastery, situated on top of the cliff above Lake Matka, thus giving the visitor a spectacular view of the lake and its surroundings. While there is no information when this monastery was built, it is first mentioned in the 17th century. Unfortunately, the monastery was abandoned during the 18th century, only to be resettled the following century. It is interesting to point that there are three layers of frescos in St. Nikola's. Close to both Andrew's and St. Nikola's is Matka Monastery from the 14th century. The monastery is located on the left side of river Treska, about 12 km from Skopje. The frescos of this monastery date from the 15th century, but they don't match those of Andrew's.