Duf Waterfall – Bigorski Monastery – St. Bogorodica

Duf Waterfall – a waterfall along the Rostushe River, near the village of Rostushe. The waterfall is about 23.5 m high. The waterfall is located near the village of Rostushe, on the slopes of Mount Krchin, where it is located in a dense forest. It is an erosional waterfall that was created as a result of the regressive cutting of the riverbed of the Rostushka River. According to the geological structure, carbonate rocks are most common. The total vertical section of the waterfall is 23.5 m, and the lower part contains a giant pot. The waterfall is full-flowing throughout the year, with the flow being twice as large during the winter, and on average it is about 90 l/s. The waterfall is located in an easily accessible place and does not require great physical effort to reach it. A marked hiking trail leads to it, 1,200 meters long, so if you walk at an average pace, you can reach the waterfall in half an hour. Halfway through, the trail leads along the canyon of the Rostushe River, which in some places is up to 100 meters deep. At the end of the canyon is the waterfall, hidden behind the rocks, with a height of over 25 meters. There is climbing equipment at the site with which visitors can climb the rocks surrounding the waterfall. An entrance fee of 50 denars is charged to visit this natural landmark, which also includes a brochure about the waterfall, as well as the service of a tourist guide.

Bigorski Monastery of St. John the Baptist (or Holy Bigorska Family) – a monastery located on the road between Gostivar and Debar in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Rostuše, Bituše, Velebrdo and Trebište, along the course of the Radika River in Western Macedonia. According to the Bigorski pomenik, the monastery was founded by the monk Jovan in 1020, and in the 16th century the monastery was destroyed by the Ottoman authorities and only a small church remained of the entire complex. The pomenik also reveals that the monastery was rebuilt in 1743, by the hieromonk Hilarion, who was also the first abbot of the Bigorski Monastery in modern times. The monastery’s name comes from the fact that the building was built of bigor. The Bigorski Monastery consists of the monastery church dedicated to John the Baptist, the ossuary, located next to the church itself, the Sejmen defensive tower, the monastery quarters complex, as well as the newly built guest quarters.

A “Gallery of Icons” has been opened in the monastery complex. The gallery exhibits about seventy icons dating from the 12th, 13th and 19th centuries. The gallery began with icons from the first half of the 17th century, and is followed by the life of Christ from the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Baptism of Christ, the Transfiguration, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the church’s vault in 1871, there were frescoes of St. Clement of Ohrid, St. Naum, St. John Vladimir, St. Cyril and Methodius, St. Tsar Boris and St. Tsar Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria. According to Bulgarian journalist Svetoslav Terziev, today the names of the Bulgarian rulers Boris and Ivan Shishman have been changed to Stefan Dečanski and Lazar Hrebeljanović, during the Serbian administration of Macedonia from 1913 to 1941.

In the Bigorski Monastery there are remains of a church dating back to the 16th century, or rather the 17th century and the 18th century, from which large icons are still kept. The oldest, specifically from the 16th century, are being restored by the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. Parts of the Macedonian film “Miss Stone” were filmed in the monastery complex.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a church in the village of Rostushe in the Lower Reka region. It is located a few hundred meters from the village and is reached by a turnoff on the right side of the road leading to the village of Velebrdo. It is known that the church was converted into a mosque by the Muslim population of the village sometime in the 19th century after they burned down the previous building and built a new one in its place. However, on August 30, 1918, the mosque was again converted into an Orthodox church with its old name and a liturgy was served in it with 12 priests from the surrounding villages. The church building is a cross-domed temple with two octagonal domes of different sizes. On every second side of both domes there is a single-light window, while on the remaining sides there are blind niches. The main entrance door is located on the west side, above it there is an empty niche, and above the niche there is a blind triforium in a semicircular frame. There is a secondary entrance to the church on the south side, above which there is also an empty niche. Blind niches are visible on the south and north walls, while blind biforas are on the walls of the hexagonal wings and above them. The building on the east side has a polygonal apse, and on each of the three outer sides there is one blind monofora. The church is built of limestone, while the plinth is made of stone. The building is entirely covered with tiles.

Source: Wikipedia

Tour

The tour starts from the village of Rostushe, where a well-maintained hiking trail begins right next to the old mosque, leading along the Rostushka River. The trail is equipped with wooden fences and wooden stairs, steep in places but manageable for all ages. After a total of 20 – 30 minutes of easy hiking, we arrive at Dufski Waterfall – a magical place to enjoy. Most of the trail is in the shade deep in the canyon of Rostushka River, and in several places there are wooden tables and benches for resting and sorting out the impressions of this natural beauty.

Despite the fact that this trail is a fairly visited place, and we expect to pay entrance fees to visit this natural beauty, unfortunately the presence of the authorities is absent.