This is a short hike of 3.5 km with 170 m ascent to visit the natural rarity known as “Kukulje” or Stone Dolls.
We parked the car at the end of the asphalt road in Nov Istevnik. There was supposed to be a marked hiking trail to the Kukulje observation point, but there had been a fire in the area a few years ago and probably most of the trees that carried markings have been burnt. Luckily with the help of the OpenStreetMap on the GPS it was not too hard to find the right trail.
The sign at the observation point says, translated:
“Kukulje near the village Nov Istevnik is a unique relief formation on the slopes of the low Belja Tepa mountain, at an altitude of about 800 meters. It consists of eroded, steep clay slopes and earth pyramids, which reach up to 20 meters in height. These formations are made of loose sedimentary material and have characteristic shapes similar to stone dolls.
The area covers about 0.5 hectares. Some of the pyramids are topped with stone caps, which protect the clay pillars from further erosion. The color of the formations varies from white to yellowish-brown.
The Kukulje formations are a rare and very fragile natural phenomena, created by erosion processes on the loose clay terrain. Because of their distinct appearance and the way they have been shaped by nature, they represent an extraordinary geomorphological attraction”.
There are numerous legends about their origin, according to one of them there was a wedding where the bride was from Trabotivishte and the groom from Nov Istevnik. The wedding attendants set off for Nov Istevnik and, according to custom, sent two boys to announce them. On the way, they met a beggar who asked to treat him with something from the wedding. Instead of giving him brandy to drink, they gave him urine. However, the beggar was not an ordinary man, but God disguised as a beggar. God became very angry and said “Aren’t you ashamed, you should all become kukolji (stone dolls).So God turned them and all the wedding attendants into stone”.
There should be another site with rare rock formations in the vicinity, near the village Trabotivishte, but we did not visit there.
If you like rock formations like these, also have a look at the Kuklica Stone Dolls near Kratovo!
You can view and download the GPS track of this hike here: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/kukulje-natural-rarity-near-nov-istevnik-236414850
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