Village Gorno Kolichani – Peak Kitka – Village Vrtekica

Kitka – a mountain peak in Macedonia, located southeast of the city of Skopje. It is part of the largest Macedonian mountain massif Mokra Mountain and is its northeastern branch. To the west it connects with Karadzica mountain, and to the south with Goleshnica. The highest is the Kitka peak with an altitude of 1,588 meters, and the Krasta peak (1,445 m) and recognizable rock formations stand out on the ridge. The crest of Mount Kitka represents the watershed of the Markova and Kadina Reka valleys.

Kitka was a favorite destination and  regularly visited by mountaineers from the vicinity of Skopje, but after the unfortunate events of 2001, mountaineers and nature lovers can rarely be seen on Kitka, and more often destroyers and wild loggers. But despite that, we decided to visit Kitka and remember the times when we regularly enjoyed the nature of this mountain and the hospitality in the mountain lodge of the same name.

The path starts in the village of Gorno Kolicani (in front of the village store) and the beginning of the path is well marked, but further on the markings are missing. From Skopje (Center) to the village Gorno Kolicani (via Drachevo) we drive a total of 20 km on a well-paved road. Until 2020 the paved road ended at Gorno Kolicani, but in the same year, the road was paved for an additional 5 km to the village of Crvena Voda (in the direction of the village of Aldinci and PD Karadzica).

Shortly after exiting the village, the path immediately enters a dense and beautiful oak and beech forest and after 2.5 km we leave the forest and move towards the top. After 6 km, there is an option to first visit the Kitka alpine lodge or to go directly to the top, which would shorten 1 km. We decided to go directly to the top and return by the same route. Within reach of Skopje, Kitka offers a slightly different nature from the surrounding mountains with beautiful views towards Karadzica and Jakupica.