Skopje/Matka Canyon

Matka Canyon (Macedonian: Матка) is a canyon located west of central Skopje, North Macedonia. Aside from being a major attraction for its stunning nature, it is also noted for the numerous important medieval churches and monasteries that are located in and around it. The canyon is located within Saraj Municipality, one of the ten that make up the City of Skopje. Despite being within the city, this area is not urban at all.

Matka Canyon is characterized by towering rocks above the Treska River, which was dammed in 1938 creating the first artificial lake in the country. The area is home to unique biology and multiple caves, of which Vrelo Cave is the deepest.

Understand
Saraj is the largest municipality by area in Skopje. It is the only completely rural one, containing expansive nature like Matka Canyon, and was added to the city limits in the early 2000s. As Saraj as a whole is primarily Albanian-inhabited, its controversial addition to the city limits bumped the proportion of Albanians in Skopje to 20%.

By bus

 * Saraj can be reached via lines 2, 11, 12, 56, and 60.

Get around
Matka Canyon can be explored by hiking and by boat.