Village Tresonche – Tresonche Waterfall and Sin Vir + Alilica Cave

Tresonche – a village in the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostushe, in the area of Mala Reka. The village is located on the Tresonechka River, which springs near the village. An asphalt road leads to the village of Tresonche, which branches off from the locality of Boškov Most from the regional road Debar – Mavrovo and continues along the course of the Mala Reka. The road to the village of Tresonche branches off from this road and, in addition to it, also leads to the villages of Rosoki and Selce. It is located in the heart of the mountain Bistra, in western Macedonia, and is spread along the left and right sides of the Tresonechka River, which springs in the immediate vicinity of the village. It is 22 kilometers east of the city of Debar.

Tresonche is surrounded by the Brzovec and Peshkopeja peaks on the north side, Shkrka (Dajdovec) on the east and the hills that start with Dumostol and end with Sokolica rock on the south. To the south of Tresonche is the village of Lazaropole. The climate in the valley of Tresonechka Reka is continental, and in the higher places it is mountainous, i.e. alpine, which is characterized by heavy snowfall.

Tresonce is one of the oldest villages in Macedonia. Its first name was Staro Selo. It is mentioned for the first time in a census from 1467, and a little later in Tahrir defter no. 4 from 1474 – 1476, where it is mentioned as a Dervenji village. The first preserved records of the village originate after the Ottoman Empire was established on the territory of Macedonia. The probability that the village existed even before that is quite high, but due to the fighting that took place at that time in Bistra between the Ottomans and their opponents, the temporary displacement of the population from the region of Radika contributed. According to studies, it is believed that in the distant past the region of Mala Reka was inhabited by herders – Vlachs, who lived in temporary summer huts and used the rich pastures of Bistra. According to the findings of the Serbian scientist and ethnologist, Jovan Cviić, who worked at the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of the Slavic tribes in that area, the Vlachs became Slavized. In addition, Tresonche, together with other villages in the area, is part of an area inhabited by Mijaci, and the first written interpretation of the meaning of the word “Mijak” was given by the Galician Gjorđija Pulevski (1817 – 1893). He explains in his book “Slavic – Macedonian general history” that “the word MIJAK means – bright mind, hora brightumni and other Mijaci = Macedonians…”. Pulevski connects the origin of the Mijats with the ancient Macedonians and believes that “the Mijats were the guards of Alexander the Great, and the Brsjats were his swift army”.

According to the original records, in 1467 there were three Christian houses in Tresonce. The stories of the old and found records in the Turkish notebooks testify that there were up to 300 houses in Tresonce over the centuries. The first school in the village was built in 1852, but for years before that, the education of the inhabitants was carried out in the village church or in the monastery “St. Jovan Bigorski”.

Source: Wikipedia

Tour

If you are looking for a real adventure, nature, a place hidden from all views and noise – then this tour is the right choice. The village of Tresonche is such an isolated location, just getting to the trailhead is a real logistical challenge.

We arrive in Tresonce from Skopje via Mavrovo, Rostuse, Mogorce, where a 9 km long local paved road separates to the village. Our recommendation is to drive this road with an SUV because the road is quite damaged and narrow and it took us about 30 minutes. There is no GSM signal along the way, and if you have a problem you are on your own.

We arrive in Tresonche and immediately head along a dirt road that leads along the Tresonche River to the small hydropower plant, from where the path narrows and follows the river. Most of the path is in the shade in a beautiful forest where you can constantly hear the murmur of the Tresonechka river while the peaks of Mal and Golem Brzovec tower high above the river. After passing 3 KM we arrive at the cave Dolna Alilica and from this point we start to move on the very bed of the river. Since we are moving in a period when the water level is low, moving along the river is really easy and simple, but when the water level is high, you will probably need rubber boots. We cross several wooden bridges and about 100 meters before Sin Vir, an iron platform with a rope is placed in order to facilitate the ascent to the finish, since this part is quite inaccessible in Tresonechka river canyon itself. Here we recommend great caution especially with children because the iron platform is placed in the river itself and the surface is quite slippery. And finally the path ends and in front of us with a strong roar of water plunging from the high rocks, the waterfall Sin Vir appears. This is where our tour ends because our team includes smaller children, but if you are ready to continue, there is a possibility to continue to the Gorna Alilica cave as well as to visit the upper waterfall called Tresoneche Waterfall (the GPS record contains all the listed sites).