travel
nded Agenda : urday
about one hour from the trailhead . The village outskirts are rough-hewn structures of tree branches that could either be straight out of Swiss Family Robinson or Deliverance . The villagers didn ’ t seem terribly keen on conversation , but they did let us eat our delicious lunch of bread , salami , fruit , nuts and rakija on the stream banks in peace .
From here , continue through town along the left riverbank and you ’ ll happen upon some old Turkish cemeteries complete with Arabic inscriptions . The path continues onward another 45 minutes to an abandoned village called Iberli , which now consists of one weekend home and some crumbled remains of ancient houses . Following the road ’ s switchbacks up the mountain will lead you to Konche or eventually Radovish You can either turn left at the Iberli weekend house and follow the path to a service road that winds around to the village of Koreshnica , or simply head back the way you came to Chelevec . From either of these villages you can call a taxi from Demir Kapija to collect you ( make sure you get the taxi driver ’ s phone number when he first drops you off at the tunnel !).
Cost : 80 denars ( taxi 1 ) + 200 denars ( taxi 2 ) + 400 denars ( packed lunch )
Getting there and away :
Three trains per day run back and forth between Skopje and Demir Kapija at 356 denars roundtrip . Mlaz Bogdanci buses will also stop at the gas station outside of town to let you off from Skopje ( 270 denars oneway ). It ’ s then a short walk into town .
Winetasting at the “ Temple of Wine ”
Reward yourself after a long day ’ s journey with a visit to Popova Kula , home of Macedonia ’ s most magnificent view . This beautiful winery ’ s open-terraced restaurant provides views over the gorge , surrounding mountains , picturesque towns and rows of vines demurely draped over trellises .
Nothing complements a good conversation with friends better than a few bottles of Popova Kula ’ s delicious wines . We worked our way through a white Altan , followed by the reds Prokupec and Vranec – all paired with a cheese platter , Mediterranean salad , tavche gravche beans and sarma . No need for an entrée and we were still more stuffed than a baba ’ s pepper in summertime . The restaurant stays open until midnight , so feel free to linger late – just beware as camel spiders the size of rabbits have allegedly been known to appear on the Popova Kula lawn .
Cost : 400 denars per person
Photos by Austin Fast : Ari Climbs Over River , Stork Church , Classy Orange Rakija Glass , In the Woods , Lunchtime in Chelevec
Summer 2013 – 25