Skopje St. Osogovski & Kokino tour

• Skopje Daily Tours
• Walking Tour

Departure to Kokino, a megalithic observatory, which is situated in the area of the municipality Old Nagorichane. It is located on the top “Tatikjev stone”, at an altitude of 1.030 m and was named after the nearest village Kokino. The observatory was accidentally discovered in 2001 by Bulgarian and Macedonian archeologists and in 2002 a research was started by the National Museum in Kumanovo. It has been dated to 1.800 years B.C., from the early Bronze Age and has an area of 5.000 m2.

The megalithic observatory is located on a neo-volcanic hill. The rocks are created by hardening of the lava that leaked from a volcanic crater. Time and erosion have made fissures on the rocks and part of these fissures represented markers through which the Sun and Moon cycles were observed and time was measured. The megalithic observatory in Kokino is one of the most important old observatories in the world. Therefore, in 2005, the American Space Agency NASA ranked Kokino as 4th on the list of 15 natural observatories in the world.

We will continue to the monastery St. Joakim Osogovski (11/12th century), located a few kilometers from Kriva Palanka, on the hills of Osogovo Mountain. The monastery is also known by the name Sarandopor, given by the place it was built on. According to historical data, the monastery was first mentioned in the period of King Kalojan (1196 – 1207), who visited the monastery. The monastery has seen a lot of ups and downs in its rich history. It has been visited by many church officials and travelers. Hadzi Stefan Beglikchija in 1847 initiated the construction of the great cathedral dedicated to St. Joakim Osogovski. It was finished and consecrated in 1851.

The construction of the cathedral was entrusted to Andrej Damjanov (1817 – 1878) from the Renzov family, who was the most famous builder in the Balkans in the beginning of the 19th century. The oldest object in the monastery complex is the little church “The Birth of Holy Mary” (Rozhdestvo na Presveta Bogorodica), built in 14th or 16th century on the foundations of a church built in 11th – 12th century. The building has a Byzantine style. The construction of the old quarter started in 1864 and was finished in 1905.The monastery is open for visitors, passengers and believers. Nowadays many cultural manifestations take place here, like the International Art Colony “St. Joakim Osogovski”, Summer School of Architecture and the Colony of the Association of Wood-carvers. Lunch in some of the restaurants and return to Skopje