Hydroelectric Plant St. Petka – Lake Kozjak

Kozjak – an artificial lake in Western Macedonia, the largest in the country, located between Suva Gora mountain in the west and the “Jasen” reserve in the east. The lake is 32 km long, sometimes it is 130 m deep, and the maximum distance from one shore to the other is 400 m. Two roads lead to the lake: the southern approach to the lake leads from Makedonski Brod and stretches along the course of the Treska river. The other approach is from Skopje, where the road runs under the southern slopes of Vodno. The lake was created in 2004, when the “Kozjak” hydropower plant started operating.

Source: Wikipedia

Tour

The original route (GPS link) starts from the village Markova Sušica (Markova Reka), however, if we were to ride this route again, we would start from the crossroads on the road to HEC Sveta Petka. The reason for this is the crowd and dust on the ramp (at times it resembled scenes from Mad Max).

The road to the intersection for HEC Sveta Petka is asphalted and in good condition. Due to the length of the route we used Fitness (Hybrid) bikes, which compared to MTB bikes are quite faster, but the choice is yours.

Part 1: Crossroads – HEC Sveta Petka (9 km in one direction)

On this section, traffic is significantly reduced and you can truly enjoy nature. You are practically moving on the other side of Matka Canyon. The views are magical: if we ever get the money together, this is the right place to put Zipline, and oops.. in a minute you’re on Matka. Here a guy appeared with a vehicle and plates from eastern Macedonia asking how to get to Matka: with Zipline or mountaineering equipment was our advice – Google Maps won’t help you much in such locations.

Part 2: Junction – Vidikovec Kozjak (13 km in one direction)

After returning to the crossroads (an additional 9 km uphill, but worth all the money), we continue to the village Nova Breznica, where we turn right towards the Kozjak lake. There is a serious steepness to overcome here, but the reward at the top is more than enough: a magical view of Lake Kozjak.