Discover Macedonia

North Macedonia is a landlocked country of 25,713 square kilometres, 857 of them water, and just over 1.83 million people in the southern Balkans, bordered by Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia and taking up roughly the northern third of the wider region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital, holds a quarter of the population; the country is defined by the central valley of the Vardar, ringed by mountains rising to Korab, and by three great natural lakes on its borders, Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran. Most people are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people; Albanians are around a quarter, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks and Aromanians.

The land was Paeonia and Pelagonia in antiquity, Macedonian from the 4th century BC, Roman, then Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian by turns; Saint Clement's literary school at Ohrid spread the Cyrillic script from 886 and Tsar Samuel made the town his capital. The Ottomans held it from the late 14th century until the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, Serbia and then Yugoslavia followed, and in 1945 it became a Yugoslav republic. It seceded peacefully in 1991, celebrates 8 September as Independence Day, joined the UN in 1993, weathered an insurgency in 2001, has been an EU candidate since 2005, and under the Prespa Agreement of June 2018 took the name North Macedonia in February 2019, which opened its way into NATO.

For the visitor the country is Ohrid above all: a town that once had 365 churches on a lake that is among Europe's deepest and oldest, with more than 200 endemic species, both inscribed by UNESCO in 1979 and 1980. Beyond it are Skopje's Old Bazaar, a market since the 12th century in a city rebuilt after the earthquake of 26 July 1963; the Matka canyon and its caves; four national parks, from Pelister, Yugoslavia's first in 1948, to Mavrovo, the largest at about 780 square kilometres; and the Roman and Macedonian ruins of Heraclea and Stobi. Tourism was 6.7 per cent of GDP in 2016. The currency is the denar, the emergency numbers 192, 194 and 193, every visitor must register with the police within a day or two of arriving, and the advisories' worries are pickpockets, mountain roads and winter air.

Do I need a visa?

Not for up to 90 days on British, Canadian, EU and many other passports; the passport must be valid 90 days beyond arrival.

Do I have to register with the police?

Yes, within 24 to 48 hours of arrival depending on which advisory you read; a hotel does it at check-in, a private host may not, and the fine for not doing it is real.

What currency?

The denar, pegged to the euro since 2002. Cash rules; cards work in larger places; ATMs are in the towns.

How do I get there?

Fly to Skopje or Ohrid, or take a bus or train from Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania or Kosovo. Most journeys inside the country are two to four hours.

What are the emergency numbers?

192 police, 194 ambulance, 193 fire, 196 roadside.

Is Ohrid worth the trip?

It is the reason to come: a lake among the oldest in Europe with more than 200 endemic species, a town that once had 365 churches, and a double World Heritage listing since 1979 and 1980.