Theoretically, this was supposed to be an easy-going hike, the first one of our 2020 holiday in corona-virus plagued times. I had found a GPS track recorded in 2016 for this hike on Wikiloc. Unfortunately, some parts of this recorded GPS track were not correct at all, either because the trail was completely overgrown since the track was recorded, or because the recording was not good. I suspect the latter. So it took us quite some time, especially in the beginning, going back and forth, up and down through dense vegetation and adding quite some extra kilometers to the trail. All these efforts have been deleted from my GPS track, which should be straightforward to follow.
We parked our car at Lake Ohrid near Lagadin. From there we took an unpaved road uphill and stairs leading to the private property of the Robinson guesthouse. Their friendly black dog liked hiking as much as we do and accompanied us during the whole hike. If you want to avoid going through the Robinson guesthouse property, take the dirt road uphill 200 m south from the start.
Retrospectively, the first part of this trail is very clear and even well marked with red paint. However, after about 1.4 km of climbing the red marking suddenly disappeared at an open field, and we had so search again for the right trail. Unfortunately it more often happens that the marking miraculously disappears at crucial points in Macedonia, that’s why I always recommend to use a GPS device. After some fruitless attempts to find the marked trail back, we decided to walk up to the obvious antenna station above us.
So we finally ended up in the rural village Gorno Konjsko, where we had a look at the Church of St Mina on the graveyard. The church was closed but we had lunch in the shadow at the premises.
We tried to find out who has the key of the Church of St Mina, and to get a bowl of water for our thirsty canine friend, at the guesthouse and restaurant Villa Minami located next to the graveyard, but they were not very friendly nor helpful. Quite unusual in Macedonia! Most of Gorno Konjsko is deserted, with many houses in ruins. If you’re lucky you’ll see an old Baba (grandmother) with her herd of sheep.
From Konjsko to Elshani is all downhill with good views of Lake Ohrid. This is definitely the most pleasant part of this hike. You can already see the Church of St Ilija in Elshani in the distance. In Elshani we rested at the village spring, which was also an excellent place for the Robinson dog to cool down. We also had an icecream from the local supermarket.
After that we visited the beautifully located Church of St Ilija. The Church of St Ilija was closed, but you can ask around for the person with the key. Ask for the “key of the church” = “klucot od crkvata”, pronounced “klutsjot od serkvata”. It is a good habit to leave some denars in the church, or to buy some candles. However, it was hot and we were tired, so we did not follow up on this, after finding out that the caretaker was living a bit further uphill in the village.
When we were back at the lakeside in Lagadin, the Robinson dog was returned to its owner.
If you are driving back from Lagadin to Ohrid, you may want to make a short stop just before you exit Dolno Konjsnko to have a look at the large Late Antique kiln for the production of ceramics, discovered in 1969 during construction works of a road leading from Ohrid to St Naum. The kiln is well preserved, located under a protective roof next to the modern road. The kiln has a rectangular plan of side ca. 3 m and features two chambers. The preserved height is also about 3 m. Based on parallels from Bulgaria and Romania, it might be with a high probability dated to the 6th c. AD (!!!) and classed to the group of kilns producing bricks and roof tiles (Source: Weissova, The Frontier Studies. Survey of the Northern Part of the Lake Ohrid Basin, Preliminary Report on the Season 2017, 2019, STUDIA HERCYNIA XXII/1, 99–133). Location of the kiln.
This hike gets 3 out of 5 stars. It is a nice combination of nature and villages. You can view and download the GPS file of this hike here: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/lagadin-gorno-konjsko-elshani-in-galicica-national-park-54700441
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