2 days trip to the PELISTER PEAK | Baba, North Macedonia | Tour 2023

Baba, also known by the name of its highest peak, is a mountain in North Macedonia. The Pelister peak (2601 meters, or 8533 feet) overlooks the city of Bitola. Baba is the third-highest mountain in North Macedonia. Other peaks besides Pelister are Dva Groba (2514 meters), Veternica (2420 meters), Musa (2350 meters), Ržana (2334 meters), Široka (2218 meters), Kozji Kamen (2199 meters), Griva (2198 meters) and Golema Čuka (2188 meters) in North Macedonia, and Belavoda (2.179 meters), Kirko. The Baba massif splits up the rivers in the region so that they flow towards the Adriatic.

Pelister National Park’s flora includes the five-needle pine “Molika” (Pinus peuce) – a unique species of tertiary age that is present only on a few mountains in the Balkan Peninsula. Fauna in the area include bears, roe deer, wolves, chamois, deer, wild boars, rabbits, several species of eagles, partridges, red-billed jackdaws, and the endemic Macedonian Pelagonia trout. In a comprehensive article published in 2002, Melovski and Godes reported that there are three large carnivores in North Macedonia that can be found in Baba and its surrounds, the brown bear, the wolf, and the lynx. Actual numbers at that time were difficult to estimate given that most reports came from non-scientific sources (surveys, hunters, and anecdotal reports), however in 2002, it was estimated there were approximately 30 bears in N.P. Pelister and Galičica N.P. hosting only 3-4. A larger number could apparently be found in the N.P. Mavrovo. The numbers however may be significantly larger in today’s climate given the protected status of bears in North Macedonia. In terms of wolves, there was an estimated total of 1,200 wolves in the entire country of North Macedonia, with an estimated 54 lynx when the article was written.

Pelister is the oldest and second-largest national park in North Macedonia after Mavrovo. It is one of the leading tourist areas in the country since it is a well-known ski resort, along with Ohrid, Prespa, Dojran, Popova Šapka, and Kruševo.

Pelister provides views of the Pelagonia Valley, Lake Prespa, Nidže, Galičica, Jakupica, and the city of Bitola. Pelister is also one of the most southern mountains in the Balkans and has an alpine character.

Pelister is also known for its two mountain lakes, which are called Pelister’s Eyes. The Big Lake is 2,218 meters above sea level while the Small Lake is 2,180 metres high. Here are the sources of many rivers.

The climate in Pelister National Park is diverse. On the peaks, there is snow even in July, and in some places, the new snow meets the old from previous years.

On Pelister Mountain, there is a TV transmitter using an additional guyed lattice steel mast as an antenna tower.

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