From Skopje: Ohrid — Samuel's Fortress & Lake Ohrid

Head southwest from Skopje across the Macedonian highlands toward Ohrid. The guide introduces the history of the region: the ancient Macedonian kingdom that gave birth to Alexander the Great (who was born 150km to the north at Pella); the Roman conquest; the Byzantine Christianisation; and the extraordinary medieval moment when Tsar Samuel (997-1014) moved the capital of his Bulgarian Empire to Ohrid, making this lakeside town briefly the centre of the largest state in the Balkans.

Samuel's Fortress (Samoilova Tvrđina) crowns the hill above Ohrid at 860m — the highest point of the old city. The site was first fortified by the Illyrian Enchelei tribe in the 4th century BC; the Macedonian kings reinforced it; the Romans rebuilt it; and in the late 10th century Tsar Samuel enclosed the entire upper city within his curtain walls and towers. Samuel (r. 997-1014) was the Tsar of the First Bulgarian Empire and one of the most powerful rulers in the medieval Balkans, extending his territory across most of the western Balkans before being defeated by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014. Basil blinded 15,000 of Samuel's soldiers (leaving one eye to every hundredth man to guide the others home); Samuel died of shock when he saw them. The fortress walls are mostly intact and the view over the lake from the battlements is extraordinary.

Walk down from the fortress through the old town, passing the Ancient Theater (2nd century BC, rebuilt in the Hellenistic period, still used for summer performances — one of the few ancient theaters in continuous use in the Balkans), the Church of Saint Sofia (11th century, one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in North Macedonia, with original fresco cycles from multiple periods), and the steep lanes of the old bazaar toward the lake shore. The Church of Saint John at Kaneo — perched on a cliff above the lake's western shore, accessible by a steep path — is the most photographed building in North Macedonia: a small 13th-century Byzantine church on an octagonal plan, with the deep blue of Lake Ohrid 30 metres below.

Lake Ohrid is between 1 and 3 million years old — one of the oldest lakes on Earth, and by far the oldest in Europe. Its extraordinary age has allowed 17 endemic animal species to evolve in isolation, including the Ohrid trout and several endemic snails found nowhere else on Earth. The lake is 288 metres deep, 30km long, and shared between North Macedonia and Albania. UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 1980 for both natural and cultural significance — the only lake in the world to receive dual designation. Walk the lakeside promenade, which passes Roman ruins, medieval churches, and Byzantine-era boat harbours, with the Albanian mountains visible across the water.