Skopje: Matka Canyon, Millennium Cross & Traditional Village Tour
Description
This tour is a combination of some of the most famous landmarks around Skopje, like the Millennium Cross on the top of Vodno Mountain and the natural reserve Matka Canyon, but in a different way – we’ll drive through the woods and pastures of Mount Vodno with fantastic views over Skopje valley and Matka Canyon, great spots for photographers. -NOTICE! As of April 29 the cable car at Millennium Cross will not operate until further notice. Visiting the Millennium Cross will not be possible this period! NOTICE: The cable car does not operate on Mondays, the last Tuesday of the month or when the weather is not suitable (wind, thunder, lightning). - Be aware! The places we visit on weekends and holidays tend to have a high number of visitors, so we may need to walk more due to the large number of buses.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Matka Canyon is surrounded with mountains, great spots for photographers. beautiful nature and breathtaking landscapes. Boat trip ( 20-60minutes) Visiting Vrelo cave which is considered to be one of the deepest underwater caves in Europe and the world. Short coffee break at the restaurant by the lake and we will have 10-20 minutes walk to our transfer point.
Our next stop is The Church of Saint Panteleimon which was build in Macedonian/Byzantine style in XII century. The church is famous for the coloring, dramatic composition and purity of expression displayed in the frescoes which are outstanding examples of Byzantine medieval monumental painting in the late 12th century.
This tour is a combination of some of the most famous landmarks around Skopje. Our first stop is Vodno (576m) Where we will take the first photos from above.
We will take the cable car to the top and we will spend around 30 minutes. The ticket cost 100mkd (1.6 euro). (cable car is not operational since April 2026)
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(190)
Good boat ride, the cave is pretty and it is worth it. The area is clean and the lake is pretty.
I booked this trip completely spontaneously after finding it on Tripadvisor that morning, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. The guide Marija was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and good at including all the participants. It never felt like a standard guided tour, but more like a pleasant experience where everyone became part of the group. The best was the people I met. I traveled alone, and through the conversations on the bus and along the way I became acquainted with other travelers who were also traveling alone. What started as a random booking 45 minutes before departure ended with new friendships and memories for a lifetime. We met daily for the rest of the week and went on to Ohrid where we stayed for a few days together. Highly recommended for both solo travelers and others who want an authentic and pleasant experience in Macedonia.
It has been a very pleasant experience. Bona, the assigned guide, has been interested in our satisfaction at all times. Unbeatable.
Great tour with knowledgeable and personable guide. A hot day so cooling off in the Canyon and caves was welcome
Nice tour. The guide Marija was delightful. We enjoyed the boat ride and the canyon. Be aware the cable car to the top of the mountain is not operating. We also expected a little more time for lunch and there was only time for coffee or light snack. I would recommend participants bring a sandwich or light lunch to enjoy for scheduled breaks.
A very nice trip through the matka gorge. A very, very nice big one delivered. The church was fantastic. Unfortunately due to maintenance on the cable car not being able to visit the Millennium Cross, that gave us more time at the other 2 locations... Too bad we only got this information about the millennium cross in the bus and there was no alternative or compensation for it.... Everything else was really beautiful.
Oustanding trip, with oustanding views. We even had an earthquake during our 20 minute rain storm on the boat!! Our tour guide was awesome, thank you Steff
We had a lovely tour of Matka canyon followed by a visit to a mountain monastery, a visit to a ‘tourist’ village and a drive around Mt Vodno. The cable car was unavailable but we still enjoyed good views of Skopje from the monastery. The guide Dua was very knowledgable and delivered good information in an engaging way. He was very careful to ensure that all members of the tour were considered
About 40 minutes by car to reach Kenion Then a boat ride, ticket to be purchased, that takes you to visit a cave..... Then the funicular to the Cross is not operational, so They replaced it with a visit to a village.. What can I say, it is particular but not exceptional. The guide, Matteo, was good; he made an effort to translate some explanations into Italian with his phone that we did not understand in English. If you are in Skopje for 3 days, it is worth doing it.
The cable car didn't run, because they hadn't completed the maintenance. No cable car - no millenium cross, both were meant to be essential parts of the tour. The agency should have known, that it didn't opeate, a simple call beforehand would have told them. That would at least had saved us some time, which we could have used in the canyon. The St. Panteleimon church is stunning and from their terrace we eventually got a view. The boat ride was nice, but it was all quite in a rush, as we had to walk about half an hour each way to get from the bus to the canyon and back. So there wasn't even time for a short coffee break at the cafeteria there.
