Osogovo Region

Tourist offer
The natural rarities, the cultural heritage and the folklore culture are significant fundament for development of the alternative forms of tourism in Osogovo. The region disposes with rich archeological deposits, churches, monasteries, rural places with specific ethnology, folklore customs and recognizable rich national kitchen.
This region is suitable for development of the following types of tourism: winter-sports, mountainous, spa and monastery, with a special accent of the conditions for development of the rural tourism.
SRC Ponikva
One of the 34 winter tourist centers designed in the spatial plan of Republic of Macedonia, on 1670 meters above sea level. It is placed in an area with dense beech wood, rich vegetation and takes especially important place in the development of tourism and the general development of the Osogovo region.
Besides a weekend settlement it also offers an accommodation in several motels and child’s resort with 220 beds.
As separate tourist attraction is the reservation for game which offers an opportunity for hunting deers, fawns, boars, mouflons and there are also private capacities for accommodation.
Mountain’s lanes
The Osogovo region offers extraordinary conditions for tracing skiing and mountainous lanes. To the highest parts of Osogovo (Ruen 2252m), can be reached from several directions.
The one is through Kriva Palanka-Toranica, the second one is Ponikva-Carev Peak (2085m).
There are also a lot of other mountainous lanes as the lane from Kriva Palanka to Ponikva.
One of the most attractive and vivid lanes is the lane M4. This mountainous lane is an integral part of the international network of mountainous lanes.
Kuklica Locality
This locality is one of the most attractive of this kind in Europe. The geological forms and the forming of the dolls were created millions years before. Besides the stone dolls in this area a fossil relics of dendron flora were found, similar as the ones at the Geo Park on the Lezbos Island (R. Greece) known in the whole world.
Lesnovski Crater
The stormy volcanic activity in this part of Osogovo region had left many relics of craters, among which the most impressive is the Lesnovski Crater. It is one of the most kept and characteristic craters on the Balkan Peninsula.
With its extraordinary natural rarity, it has been proclaimed as monument of nature and it is set on the list of geological rarities in Republic of Macedonia.
Cocev Stone locality
One of the most monumental archeological localities in the region, where the paleolith deposit is placed from before 20.000 years
In the time of the neolith a settlement was developed on this locality. Characteristic discovered object on this locality is the neolith spoon and more fragments of goddesses.
In the time of the bronze period there was a sanctuary dedicated to the wine and the God Dionis. On the west side of the rock for the first time in Republic of Macedonia had been discovered rock art, painting with red colour from before 25.000 years.
Rock art
The rock art is a base of the ethnological, artistic, historical, paleographical and also religious and philosophical heritage of Republic of Macedonia, and the world civilization as whole. In Osogovo we see rock gravures of all stylistic natures. There isn’t a form of rock gravure made in any point on the planet which hasn’t got an analogy in the rock gravures from Osogovo. For the first time in Macedonia and the Balkan a picture of rock art has been discovered in the place Cocev Stone.
The richness of rock art in Osogovo was the reason that the Institute for sustainable communities from USA has financed the construction of the first reservation of rock art built in the Kratovo region.
Osogovo where the first rock gravure on the Balkan has been discovered is proud also for the fact that UNESCO has supported the initiative for construction of monumental museum of rock art.
St. Gavril Lesnovski Monastery
One of the most important cultural-historical monuments in Macedonia the monastery St. Gavril Lesnovski is placed in Lesnovo village (Probistip Municipality). The end of
X th and XI th century is the time when the anchoret Gavril Lesnovski lived in memory of whom the monastery was built.
The monastery was restored in 1341 on the foundations of the church from XIth century.
One of the biggest values of Lesnovo monastery is the fresco painting.
This monastery is one of the highest valued literature centers.
St. Joakim Osogovski monastery
Placed at 3km from Kriva Palanka; it’s on 825 km above sea level. It was built on relics of ancient church which dates from XI th century. The monastery captures you with its spiritual, architectural and art value. Beside the hospices there are also two churches in the monastery complex dedicated to St. Joakim Osogovski and St. Mother of God, bell tower with common cemetery in the foundations, building for cross passing, tourist building, summer garden and kitchen, new guest house and residence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
In the several monastery complexes there are also around 120 beds for accommodation.
St. Pantelejmon monastery
A significant monument of culture (which values are under the protection of the state)
It is placed 12km from the town of Kocani. In the frames of the monastery complex according to the building, the icons and the rest values, the most ancient is the monastery church St. Mother of God. From the kept inscriptions above the back entrance door it can be seen that it was built in 1872. Right next to the church St. Mother of God the big church was built in 1875 dedicated to St. Pantelejmon.
Other localities
Especially characteristic are the landscape junctures in the mountainous part with areas of dense beech wood, many sources of clean water, wood fruits and salubrious plants.
Several many-century trees are evidenced in the region: the ancient pines in Kratovo (around the year of 330). Six-century mulberry in the circle of Lesnovo monastery, chestnut old around 700 years in Kratovo, ancient oak in the area of Kocani (Beli village) and the ancient gaber on Ponikva.
Characteristic volcanic balls can also be seen on several locations.