Pelister National Park is situated between the Prespa and Pelagonia valleys, in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Pelister is the first national park in the Republic of Macedonia, declared in 1948 and covers an area of 17 150 ha.
It can be said that the status of a national park was gained mainly due to the spacious forests with Molika tree (Pinus peuce – Macedonian pine or Balkan Pine), discovered in 1839 by the Austrian botanist August Grisebach.
The Molika tree or Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce) is a symbol of the national park Pelister and Baba Mountain. Today on Pelister can be found Molika trees which are older than 230 years..
Administratively, the area of the national park belongs to the municipalities of Bitola and Resen and there is only one settlement within its borders – the village of Maloviste.
“Pelister” (2601 m asl) is the highest peak of the mountain Baba and the third highest peak in Macedonia. Pelister is often used as the name of Baba Mountain, and is also synonymous with the city of Bitola.
In the Pelister National Park, 88 species of woody trees exist classified in 23 families, 91 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 10 species of amphibians, and 15 species of reptiles.
It is believed that the name “Pelister” was derived from the word “petlister” which means five leaves and associates to the five leaves (needles) for which the Молика tree is specific. Others believe that the name derives from the Greek word “peristeri”, which means dove, and associates to the white stone areas on the mountain, when viewed from afar.
Pelister lakes
On Baba Mountain there are 8 mountain lakes, of which 3 are permanent, 3 periodic and 2 occasional. According to the time of their occurrence they belong to the group postglacial lakes, while according to the factors that led to the creation of lake basins, they are divided into: erosive, accumulative and combined.
The most famous are the “Pelister eyes”, ie. the Big and Small Pelister Lakes, which are about 2 km away, and are one of the favourite destinations for the visitors of the Park. In these lakes live the endemic Pelister (Salmo trutta peristericus) and Pelagonia trout (Salmo trutta pelagonicus).
There is a legend that Pelister’s eyes formed from the tears of the two sisters who fell in love with the same boy – Pelister
