The mountains in Macedonia are divided according to the following criteria:Time of origin, the geological composition, the size and the geographical orientation, they are divided in two groups: Rhodope and Dinaric. Height: high, medium and low.In the first division, the Rhodope group is considered as older and embraces the larger part of the mountain regions in eastern Macedonia, while the Dinaric group is younger and divided in 3 subgroups: Vardar zone, which includes the mountains on the both sides of the river Vardar, right after the great curve of the river north-west of Skopje. Pelagonia massif, located on the west-southwest of the Vardar zone and eastern of the Shara zone. Shara zone, the highest one in Macedonia, is located in the most western part of the country, and stretches in north-south direction along the borders with Serbia and Montenegro, Albania and Greece. 
Lake Ohrid is the largest and most beautiful of Macedonia’s three tectonic lakes. Its astonishingly clean, clear waters together with the serene stillness of its mountain setting have captivated visitors since prehistoric times. The lake is enormous, at some 30 kilometers (18 miles) long and up to 288 meters (945 feet) deep.
While the lake is fed by water from three rivers, most of Ohrid’s water comes from another lake- Prespa, on the other side of the Galicica Mountain. Being at a higher elevation, Prespa spills its water down to Ohrid through mountain springs, the most important being Ostrovo near the monastery of St Naum, and Biljana near Ohrid town.
With its unique flora and fauna characteristic of the tertiary period (2-4 million years ago), Ohrid is one of Europe’s great biological reserves. Most of the lake’s plant and animal species are endemic and unique to Ohrid. The most famous among these are two types of Ohrid Trout (letnica and belvica, in Macedonian). Other unique Ohrid creatures include two types of eel as well as the bleak, whose scales are used for making the well-known Ohrid pearl. This treasured jewel is produced according to a secret method passed down from generation to generation. Sport fishing attracts many passionate fishermen from Macedonia, Europe and the world.
The two Prespa Lakes – Golema (Great) and Mala (Small) are the only ones on the Balkan Peninsula to have islands. The five- Golum Grad, Mala Grad, Pirg, Agios Achillaeos and Vidrinec- are located in the three countries that share the lakes today, Macedonia, Albania and Greece. With its irregular coastline, plethora of bays, extraordinary cleanliness of water, pristine nature, and setting between three national parks, Prespa is truly a place one must visit.
With a surface area of 273 sq. km, Great Prespa Lake is the second largest in Macedonia after Ohrid. Between the two lies the Galicica Mountain, through which flows an underground stream named Zavir.
The Prespa region is ecologically speaking the cleanest part of Macedonia, its nature seemingly untouched by human hands. The white pelican, black raven, heron and gull all congregate near the lake so abundant with fish, which include varieties such as trout, carp, red finned carp, chub, barbell, and others.
Due to the Mediterranean climate of southern Macedonia and the proximity of the balmy Aegean not far to the south, vegetation starts blooming in the Dojran area in early spring and continues to do so until late autumn. And so though Lake Dojran is only 10 meters (30 feet) deep at its deepest point, it is brimming with life. Owing to the large quantity of weeds that grow in the lake and the large number of plankton on its surface, Dojran’s waters are considered to be very beneficial for treating rheumatism, skin diseases and respiratory diseases, and many tourists come for precisely this reason.
Some 7 km (4.2 m) from Veles, Mladost (meaning, ‘young’) artificial lake provides an ideal escape resort. Abundant with fish, hidden in the deep forests of central Macedonia, it is a blue gem waiting to be discovered by the wandering traveler.
Debar’s Lake Spilje is the second-biggest artificial lake in the country, set in the solitude of Macedonia’s western forests. As it is rich with many species of fish, Lake Spilje is visited by passionate fishermen, and also makes for good boating.
Macedonia’s second city, Bitola is a grand old town that still bears the marks of its turn-of-the-century importance as a center for diplomacy – while also exemplifying the country’s time-honored cafe culture.
Even today, some of the faded elegance of that bygone time can be seen in the neoclassical facades of downtown buildings and the old gentlemen conversing in Bitola’s flowering park, all decked out in their finest Sunday suits and hats.
Ohrid, immortal Ohrid – a kingdom of light and water, a repository of ancient ruins from Macedonia’s earlier kingdoms – is the sublime lakeside town that for many represents the culmination of the Macedonian experience. 
The wooded ridge above the lake’s eastern shore is largely taken up by Galicica National Park, a pristine wilderness area ideally suited for nature enthusiasts. 
Archaeological finds indicate that Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in all of Europe. The lake itself is over three million years old. Ohrid town is first mentioned in Greek documents from 353 B.C.E., when it was known as Lychnidos - or, “the city of light.” Only much later, in 879 C.E., was it renamed Ohrid. The name probably derives from the Macedonian phrase “Vo Hrid” – meaning roughly, “the town on the hill.”
The town as we know it today was built mostly between the 7th and 19th centuries. During the Byzantine period, Ohrid became a significant cultural and economic center, serving as an episcopal center of the Orthodox Church and as the site of the first Slavic university run by St. Clement and St. Naum at the end of the 9th century. At the beginning of the 11th century, Ohrid briefly became the capital of Macedonia’s greatest medieval ruler, Samuel, whose fortress still presides over the city today.
During Ottoman times, Ohrid remained the seat of the autocephalous Ohrid archiepiscopacy (until 1726). During its Byzantine apogee, the town was renowned for its 365 churches and monasteries. These, and a large number of sacral edifices, have been preserved and make up a large part of Ohrid’s rich medieval past.
Here one can find sleek modern hotels above cobblestoned Ottoman streets, stately neoclassical homes right around the corner from grand old Yugoslav-era buildings, chic cafes, shopping malls and brightly-colored new offices, red-bricked Byzantine churches and rounded Turkish mosques.
Skopje also boasts reliable public transportation and taxis, as well as a plethora of modern internet cafes for keeping in touch with the folks back home. And it is also one of the safest cities in Europe. Hotels operating to the highest standards are centrally located, the water is eminently drinkable and the food hearty and nourishing, with all international tastes represented- in addition to the excellent local cuisine, of course!
Apart from being the capital of the modern Republic of Macedonia, Skopje has always been a center of power long coveted by various empires.
The arrival of migrating Slavic tribes from the Carpathians in the 6th century C.E. changed both the city’s name and the composition of its people, as the descendants of the ancient Macedonians were assimilated by the Slavic newcomers. 
At the very end of the 14th century, Skopje and all of Macedonia fell under the sway of the Ottoman Turks. In the ensuing centuries, the look of the town changed with the construction of many mosques, Turkish baths, bridges and other buildings attesting to the new Oriental influence. Today, the Ottoman legacy remains visible in Skopje’s architecture and Islamic minority.
After Macedonia was liberated from the Turks in the early 20th century, it became a republic of the Yugoslav Federation, with Skopje as the capital. At that time, the prosperous city boasted many ornate, Neoclassical buildings laid out harmoniously in a more or less Central European style. However, in 1963 a disastrous earthquake leveled much of the regal old city, and Skopje was reborn in the imaginative, futuristic style in vogue at the time. An international competition to redesign the city was won by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. His creations, such as the National Theater with its sloping roof of concrete, have shaped Skopje’s modern skyline. To this day, the clock on the remaining wall of the old railway station remains stuck at 5:17- the moment when the earthquake hit.
