The Unknown Land: Kosovo & North Macedonia

Arrival at Skopje airport meet your local guide and then head to the Northern Macedonia Capital.

OPTIONAL and according to flights arrival: Visit the "Château Kamnik", winery located on the top of hill and offering a panoramic view on Skopje. Taste different local wines and learn more about the wine culture of Macedonia.

Dinner and overnight in Skopje.

After breakfast join Kosovo and reach the city centre of Pristina, capital of Kosovo, the youngest country in Europe. Explore the political and economic capital of Kosovo where you will discover an unprecedented architectural contrast in Europe and an ever-evolving effervescent city.

Head for Peja, the largest city in western Kosovo at the foot of the Rugova Mountains and valley.

Join the waterfall of Drin Blanc, walk to the summit where you will reach the caves "Sleeping Beauty" for an interior visit of galleries carved for centuries by the force of the water.

Visit then the Patriarchal Monastery of Peja, one of the strongholds of the Orthodox religion in the region. Admire its many well-preserved frescoes as well as the calm and serene atmosphere present in this place.

Drop off your luggage at one of Kosovo best hotel and enjoy the Spa of your hotel.

Traditional dinner and overnight in Peja.

After breakfast, head towards Visoki Decani Monastery. A monument dating back to the 14th century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can admire these frescoes which constitute one of the peaks of Serbian art, powerfully inspired by Byzantine art, notably by the Church of Saint Savior of Constantinople.

You will then go to a "Kula", traditional Albanian house to discover the ancient culture of the Albanian villages (subject to availability).

Take the road to Gjakova, a charming city of Kosovo with its old authentic center and many craft stalls. Meeting of local artisans according to availability who practice trades that no longer exist in Western Europe. You will discover confectioners of "Plis" (traditional Albanian hat), "diep" (wooden cradles) as well as Albanian seamstresses.

Continue to Prizren and make a stop in the town of Rahovec famous for its vineyards. Discover the wine world of Kosovo by visiting a family business and taste several local wines.

Dinner and overnight in Prizren.

After breakfast, visit Prizren, cultural and historical capital of Kosovo. Surrounded by mountainous landscapes, discover the old Ottoman center of the city where the Lumbardhi River flows.
Its cobbled streets and tea rooms in the old bazaar give Prizren a unique Ottoman charm.

You will visit the Sinan Pasha Mosque and the Albanian League of Prizren, the first Albanian defence league established at the end of the 19th century. Lunch in a traditional restaurant in Prizren.

Free time to go to the fortress of Prizren, overlooking the city offering a magnificent panoramic view of the region.

Then take the road through the Sharr Mountains towards North Macedonia with its Capital, Skopje.

Arrival in Skopje free time. Dinner and overnight in Skopje.

After breakfast, join the Matka Canyon, a must in Macedonia.
Embark on a boat to discover the caves of Vrelo, which are considered among the deepest sea caves in the world.

Go back to Skopje and lunch in the city-centre.

Start a sightseeing tour of an earthquake-ravaged city in 1963 that has completely rebuilt itself and offers a unique experience.

You will enjoy a separate city between two cultures and two different lifestyles between Albanian Macedonian and Macedonian.

Stroll through its new city centre to discover its famous fortress "Tvrdina Kale" and its stone bridge "Kameni Most" that separates the city into two parts with the old Ottoman bazaar "Čaršija".

Dinner and overnight in Skopje.

After breakfast leave for the Mavrovo National Park on the way to Ohrid.

You will make a stop at Tetovo to discover its 15th century painted Mosque of Sarena Dzamija. Painted both indoors and outdoors, it is one of the most beautiful mosques in Macedonia.

Arrival in the Mavrovo National Park and enjoy sumptuous landscapes through, the Mavroro Lake and the Radika Canyon. You will stop at the Monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski, located on the heights of the canyon, which represents one of the most beautiful monasteries in Macedonia.

Two possibilities for lunch (depending on the size of the group) Option 1: You will make a stop in the small village of Janche, in which a resident of the village has invested in the construction of houses using the materials of the time, you will have lunch in his restaurant. Option 2: Lunch at Saint Jovan Bigorski's restaurant.

After lunch, you will head to the waterfall of Duff for a small hike of about twenty minutes.

Then take the road towards Ohrid, the Heart of Orthodoxy.

Dinner and overnight in Ohrid.

After breakfast, leave for the south of the Ohird.

Make a quick stop at Bay of Bones, an authentic reconstruction of part of a colony, dating from 1200 to 700 BC.

Visit the Saint Naum Monastery. In the middle of lush greenery, the monastery of St. Naum. Built in the tenth century is a refuge of tranquillity on the border between Albania and Macedonia.

Lunch at Saint Naum.

Return to Ohrid and stop at a viewpoint offering a magnificent panoramic view of the Ohrid region. Afternoon free to enjoy the beaches of Ohrid or stroll through the old town.

Dinner at a restaurant on Lake Ohrid with the possibility of being accompanied by Macedonian folk musicians. Overnight in Ohrid.

After breakfast, visit Ohrid. City listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site and sublime city by the lake which, for many, represents the culmination of the Macedonian experience, a Kingdom of light and water and a reference to the ancient ruins from the traditional kingdom of Macedonia.

Discover its historical heritage, well-preserved as the church of St Jovan or the ancient theater dating from the Roman Empire.

Lunch in Ohrid.

Then go to Bitola, the second largest city in northern Macedonia.
Before joining Bitola, visit the archaeological site of "Heraclea Lyncestis" and discover the vestiges of this ancient city of the Kingdom of Macedonia whose foundations date back to the 4th century BC.

Dinner and overnight in Bitola.

After breakfast, start a sightseeing tour of Bitola, the city of consuls. You discover a Mediterranean-style city with its churches, mosques, old Ottoman bazaar and beautiful neoclassical houses.

Take the road to reach the vineyard Popova Kula. You will discover the wine culture of a small Macedonian vineyard located on the heights of a hill and offering a magnificent panoramic view of the region. Lunch in its charming building while tasting several local wines.

Take the road again to Kosovo, you will then reach Gračanica, a Serbian village located 10 minutes from Pristina. Drop your luggages at the hotel and free time in a beautiful natural setting.

Dinner and overnight in Gračanica.

After breakfast, visit the UNESCO Gračanica Monastery.

You will drive to the Bear Sanctuary, where many captive bears in private restaurants in Kosovo and Albania were released.

Then leave for Kukaj, a small village originally rebuilt in the mountains where you can enjoy a traditional Albanian meal like Flija (a tart made of several layers of pancakes covered with cream).

After lunch, go to Novo Brdo Castle, located on the heights of a plateau offering a splendid panoramic view of the region. (4 hours hike possible for a group limited to 20 people).

Return to your hotel in Gračanica at the end of the day. Dinner and overnight in Gračanica.

After breakfast and according to the schedule of the return flight, free time until your transfer to Skopje airport for your return flight.