The Pelister National Park has begun marking and arranging a hiking trail that allows all nature lovers and cultural heritage enthusiasts to tour the churches and monasteries in the villages of the Pelister region.
The first part of the trail starts from the village of Trnovo and leads through the villages of Magarevo and Rotino to the village of Capri, while its second part passes by the churches and monasteries in the village of Malovishte.
Those who decide to take this exciting walk will first visit the church “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in the area of the village of Trnovo.
This temple, built in 1854, is located at the very entrance to the village. During the First World War, the church was completely destroyed, with many valuable relics being lost without trace. The valuable iconostasis is known to have been dismantled by Bulgarian soldiers who wanted to take it to their country. However, due to the difficult military conditions, they did not fully succeed in their intention, so the iconostasis was later found and transferred to the church “Presveta Bogorodica” in Bitola.
In the 1930s, the church in Trnovo was renovated by the local population and it once again became the center of the spiritual life of the village. In recent years, in the summer months, the church yard has been a place where emigrants from European and overseas countries, as well as Macedonians expelled from Greece, meet.
From the village of Trnovo, the hiking trail continues to the village of Magarevo, where the church of “Saint Great Martyr Demetrius” was built in 1834. This church suffered the same fate as the church in Trnovo during the First World War – it was completely destroyed, and nothing remained of the inventory. As with the church of “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, the iconostasis from this church was also targeted by Bulgarian soldiers, only to be later returned and, together with the one from the Trnovo church, placed in the church of “Holy Virgin Mary” in Bitola. After the end of the war, the church dedicated to the Great Martyr Demetrius was renovated and is regularly visited by believers.
Near the church is also the former women’s monastery “Saint George”, built in 1871. Unfortunately, during the military operations, the dormitories were destroyed and only the church that remains today bears witness to its existence.
On the way to Capari, visitors pass through Rotino, where the church “St. Nicholas” and the monastery “St. Ilija” are located. The church was built in 1870. The consequences of the First World War were repaired after the end of the war, when the church was reconsecrated. Every year on December 19, when the temple is a holiday, this church celebrates its patron saint.
The monastery “St. Ilija” can be reached via a picturesque path that leads from the last house in the village, through a dense oak forest into the bosom of Pelister. One kilometer away from the village, at an altitude of 1070 meters, the monastery “St. Ilija” rises here.
The first part of the hiking trail ends in the village of Capari, where the monastery “St. Petka” and the church “St. Gorgji” are located. The monastery was built in the 16th century, and today’s monastery church in the 19th century. For a long time, this monastery was subordinated to the Ohrid Metropolitanate, while administratively it belonged to the Bitola district. Until 1724, the monastery was quite neglected, when, as recorded, it was restored by priest Dionysius. Towards the end of the last century, the monastery was affected by a fire in which the iconostasis, icons and most of the inventory burned down. With the help of the faithful, the damaged parts were soon restored. In the middle of the monastery is the church, which is surrounded on the east, south and west sides by the monastery chambers, whose verandas are connected into one whole. This monastery is visited by believers en masse on August 8, when the temple holiday is celebrated.
The spiritual heritage in Capari is complemented by the church “St. George”, whose foundations were laid by the local population on May 11, 1888. The frescoes in the church date back to 1890 and are the work of Josif Radević from the village of Lazaropole, Debar region.
The second part of the trail takes the visitor to the village of Malovište and its surroundings. This village, like few others, can boast of the extraordinary cultural and spiritual heritage that has been preserved to testify to the life and customs in this part of Macedonia throughout the centuries.
At 1410 meters above sea level, 2.5 kilometers southwest of the village of Malovište, in the high beech forest rises the monastery “St. Ana”. There are sources that testify to its existence as early as the middle of the 18th century. The present church, however, was built in 1936, while the dormitories were built on several occasions in the twentieth century.
This Orthodox building, dedicated to St. Ana, the mother of the Most Holy Mother of God Mary, welcomes believers who come from all parts of the Bitola and Prespa regions every year during the monastery’s feast day. In the monastery complex, visitors can refresh themselves at the large fountain from which pure and fresh mountain water gushes.
The next landmark to which the path leads is the cathedral dedicated to the patron saint of the dead, “St. Petka”. It was built in 1856 on the foundations of another church, which is believed to date back to the 16th-17th centuries. The church, an example of the skill of the old masters, captivates with its architecture. Inside, on an area of 100 m2, the iconostasis from 1992, made in deep carving by the master Dimitri, dominates. The icons and frescoes, works of famous zoographers, complement the mysticism that will conquer you with the first step into the church.
A true cultural and spiritual treasure is the permanent gallery of icons, with hundreds of examples presented in a chronological span of approximately 400 years.
High on Baba Planina, under the peak called Pyramid, at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, is the church dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ “St. Spas”. The believers built this church on the very rocks of the mountain. From the mountain peak, on which the small bell tower is placed, the view of Lake Prespa stretches out like a palm tree. The church holiday is movable and is celebrated always on Thursday, 40 days after Easter.
In the village of Malovište you can also visit the small church “St. George”, on the north side of the approach to the village, and the chapel “St. Athanasius the Great”, south of the last house in the village.
