Тhe largest climbing site near Skopje…

The Lake Matka canyon is a beautiful escape from Skopje and less than an hour’s drive by local bus or 20 minutes by car. It offers plenty of opportunities for both sport and trad climbing, in addition to hiking, kayaking, or just relaxing at one of the canyon’s restaurants. There is also a collection of medieval Orthodox churches that are worth stopping in to see the artwork and architecture.

MATKA

Location: Matka is 15 km west of Skopje, on the way to Tetovo. It offers both traditional and sport climbing routes. Matka is a wilderness area centered on the River Treska and Lake Matka. In the area there are Macedonian Orthodox monasteries dating from the 13th century that are accessible along easy trails. You can get to Matka by car or by bus from Skopje. The bus leaves every 100 minutes from Skopje central bus station, above the city Railway station.

Rock structure: The rock is a limestone conglomerate, giving it a very craggy appearance. Be carefully on this– sometimes there is loose rock, especially after winter when the rock gives a false impression of solidity.

Climbing season: With good weather, you can climb in Matka all year round. The periods from March through June and from September through November are best, although in winter there are also some good days for climbing. During midsummer, early morning and late afternoon climbs will keep you out of the heat.

Protection: Traditional routes are relatively well protected with pitons. Because of the rock composition, the security of pitons can vary – be careful. Sport climbing routes are bolt protected. In the summer be aware of snakes.

Equipment: Standard gear for traditional or sport climbing: dynamic rope,quick draws (nr.depending of the route), helmets, shoes, harness etc.

“Otmar’s Rock”, Photo by Vladimir Cvetkoski

OTMAR’S ROCK (Multi pitch classic routes)

1	Novogodishen	II/III
2	Liljak	A2(VIII/IX)
3	APB	III
4	Kozina	IV+ (VI)
5	Otmar	IV (IV+)
6	Otmar-left variant	IV+ (V-)
7	Matka leva	(IV+/V)
8	Cigo
9	Matka desna	(V+/VI+)
10	Veteranski	V (VI-)
11	Frangov	VI+
12	Tani	VI/VI+
13	Pajak
14	Panchev	VI-/VI+
15	4 klina	IV+ (V)
16	Rampa	IV+/V-
17	Dozhdovnik
18	PI
19	Cheljo
20	Fifi klin	IV- (IV+)
21	Bornik	III+ (IV-)
22	Crno-Belo	VI ( V-, A0)
23	Nina	IV (IV+)
24	Cigi	III+ (IV-)

Rotes “K”, Photo by Vladimir Cvetkoski

Treska river routes

1	K1	V
2	K2
3	K3	VI+
4	K4	VI+
5	Dimeva nasoka	IV (50m), VI/VI+(40m)
6	Santova nasoka	IV (IV+)

Left -K3, Right-K2 (photo-Alpinizam.org)

The yellow line -“K2”-, the red-“K1” and the blue-“K4”, in the white circle in this photo is the part where the direction “Dimeva nasoka” is located.(photo-Alpinizam.org)