Lake Ohrid: the back story

About Lake Ohrid: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Skopje Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Three hours south-west of Skopje, Lake Ohrid lies between mountains on the border with Albania, deep, clear and astonishingly old. On its shore, the town of Ohrid climbs a hill crowned by a fortress, with churches and monasteries at every turn.

An ancient lake

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in Europe, more than a million years old, and nearly 300 metres deep at its deepest. Fed largely by underground springs, it is famously clear and home to many species found nowhere else. UNESCO listed the lake and the town as a natural and cultural World Heritage Site in 1979–80, and extended the site to the Albanian shore in 2019.

The Jerusalem of the Balkans

Ohrid was a great centre of Orthodox Christianity, art and learning in the Middle Ages, and the seat of an archbishopric for centuries. Legend says it once had a church for every day of the year. St Sophia, St John at Kaneo and the Holy Mother of God Perivlepta, with their frescoes and icons, are among the finest in the Balkans.

Lake Ohrid has been a lake for more than a million years.

Saints Clement and Naum

In the late 9th century, the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Clement and Naum, founded monasteries and schools at Ohrid that spread literacy in the Slavonic language. Clement’s monastery stood at Plaošnik; Naum’s is at the southern end of the lake, beside the springs.

The lake today

In summer Ohrid is a lively resort, with beaches, boats and the Ohrid Summer Festival of music and theatre in July and August. Out of season it is quiet, golden and very beautiful.

When to go

June and September are ideal: warm water, fewer crowds. July and August are busy and lively. Spring and autumn are perfect for walking and churches.

Our advice: stay at least two nights, in or near the old town. Walk the lakeside boardwalk to Kaneo at sunset, see St Sophia and the icon gallery, take a boat to St Naum and the springs, and drive up Galičica for the view of two lakes.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Lake Ohrid: the back story before you go.