High Scardus Trail Stage 22 Mountain Hut Magaro - Sveti Naum

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Sveti Naum

The last stage of the High Scardus Trail starts at the idyllic Magaro Hut, which is owned by the Ohrid Mountain Rescue Service. The trail first climbs quite steeply through a mixed deciduous forest. At the tree line, the view opens up into an impressive high cirque. Here you come to a fork with two possible ascents to the Magaro peak. To the right, the path is clearly visible but sometimes steep, leading up to the northern ridge and then onto the extensive summit plateau to the highest point. Somewhat less steep and better protected from the often quite strong winds on the north ridge is the variant over the east ridge: for this, keep straight on at the junction and follow the path southwards, pass through the impressive high cirque and then climb the broad and good-natured east ridge to the summit of Magaro. Magaro is the main peak of the Galichica National Park, with an altitude of 2300m, although its neighbouring peak is a few metres higher. The summit is marked with a small stone monument and offers impressive views of Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and a veritable ocean of peaks that includes not only the mountains of northern Macedonia and Albania but also those of Greece. The ascent from the Magaro hut is 600 metres and takes 2 hours.

On the following, last section of the long-distance trail, the High Scardus Trail once again displays its most impressive side. You first follow a trail, sometimes more, sometimes less clearly recognisable, but regularly marked with green markings, southwards across the karst plateau towards the next higher hilltop. Once there, keep slightly to the left until you come across a clearly recognisable military path after a good 200 metres. As you continue along the path, you will pass trenches that were dug here during World War I, when French and Bulgarian troops clashed on both sides of the Salonika Front.  The military trail winds slightly to the west of the ridge ridge and thus mostly somewhat sheltered from the wind until it reaches what is actually the highest elevation of the Galichica range, a nameless peak directly on the border with Albania. However, you spare yourself this last ascent and instead head slightly downhill to the right towards a small high cirque. From here on, the path runs down the slope in dead straight serpentines as if drawn with a ruler. The panorama that is literally at your feet is breathtaking: from the mighty Tomorr in the south of Albania, over the remote Valamara massif to Shebenik and Jablanica in the northwest, the view extends, while Lake Ohrid glistens in the sun 1,500 metres below you. At an altitude of about 1,800 metres, you do not continue along the military trail leading north across the gully, but instead follow a few loose tracks down the slope, first in a southerly direction, then in a steady zigzag to the west. Your path leads you through an open piece of forest until you come across a forest path with clearly recognisable wheel tracks about 200 metres below. Follow this to the right for about a kilometre. Then keep your eyes open: A white-painted plastic bottle, placed over a slender tree stump to the right of the path, marks the spot where a path to the left leads to an open meadow with views over the southern shore of the lake. Follow the path to the blue pipes protruding from the ground belonging to the water supply of the village of Lubanishta below. Here you keep to the right and follow the path down the slope, sometimes through dense mixed forest, sometimes across open meadows in a mostly westerly direction. After a few final bends, the dense mixed forest suddenly opens up to reveal the village of Lubanishta and the lake below.

Once in the village, walk down to the main road where there is a public water tap to fill your bottle. Do not go onto the main road, but turn left before the water tap and follow the road for about 500 metres. After a short stretch of forest, the last houses of the village appear on your left. Exactly here, turn right and follow the trail tracks first across a narrow open space, then further through the mixed forest. The path winds down in a south-westerly direction to the Albanian border, where you come across an old jeep track. Keep right and then immediately left on a downhill footpath to the northwest. Cross a few cultivated fields to reach the road again, which you cross this time and follow the clear footpath to the left directly below. Passing through a few farms, you come to the circular path of the Sveti Naum monastery, which leads you past Orthodox chapels to the monastery itself and thus to the shore of Lake Ohrid. You have reached your destination.

The end point of Sveti Naum is an absolutely worthy one, as it represents one of the most famous Orthodox pilgrimage sites in the Balkans and is characterised by the spectacular location of the monastery as well as the natural wonder of the freshwater springs. There are several restaurants in Sveti Naum where you can stop for a well-deserved meal after the hike.