KRATOVO

A one-day tour

Do you remember the cute alien E.T.? He longed for his home - this might have been his place, this extraordinary town, whose inhabitants were turned into stones and that is spread on three locations in the Valley of the Dolls.
In the volcanic area of Kratovo and Zletovo, along the river Kriva and in the vicinity of the village of Kuklitza, a natural reserve of stone figures lies hidden, uniquely attractive and matched by only a few in Europe. It is here where fantasy becomes reality and reality turns into fantasy...
A huge woman just leaving her hairdresser's; three women chatting; a husband, wife and a child; a small lady in a long evening dress; a man sunbathing; a wedding retinue… and many more extraordinary inhabitants of the Valley of the Stone Dolls.

09:00

Arrival at the village of Trnovetz and visit to the unique reserve of stone art in South-Eastern Europe. The reserve is an open-air museum of the Macedonian cultural, historical, artistic, linguistic, philosophical and religious heritage. The reserve is on an area of 1.200.000 m2 and it contains stone forms from various periods, once related to different cults.

10:00

Continue towards the village of Ketenovo, along the river of Kriva, through the unspoiled nature.

10:20

Arrival at the village of Kuklitza, followed by a 10 minutes walk to the entrance of the Valley. Tour around the three neighbourhoods, closed one to another and an optional visit to the fourth one, that can be reached in 20 minutes of walking.

13:00

Arrival in the town of Kratovo

13:15

Lunch.

14:15

Tour around Kratovo, a town of towers and bridges, founded in Roman times, an important trade center in Byzantine times, a gold and silver mining centre for the Ottoman times - under the sultan Bayazit - where a mint for Turkish coins was operated in those days. The Medieval towers, the underground passageways that connected them, as well as the bridges, make this town very appealing to tourists.
[Short history of Kratovo]

17:30

Departure for Bitola