This is a great hike, and the best I did in Macedonia in summer 2023. It starts near the village Ribnica in Mavrovo National Park and takes you to the Korab Waterfall. It is 23 long with about 1350 m climbing.
Note that I actually did not walk back the same route back after I reached the Korab Waterfall. I digitally inverted the Ribnica-to-Korab-Waterfall track and joined these tracks together to make the current GPS track in both directions, because I think this is the most accessible route to visit the Korab Waterfall. The walk that I actually did makes a circle, includes the peak named Maja E Madhe (according to OpenStreetMap) and the village Grekaj. However, the last part of my original hike was pretty difficult and overgrown and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. You can find my original hike (27 km with 2150 m ascent) here if you like a challenge!
Also note that the 4 km from the main road through Mavrovo National Park to the starting point are unpaved. A car with reasonable clearance is recommended because there were quite some bumps on the road.
At the start of the hike I parked just before the makeshift bridge because it did not look very robust. Later I noticed a car passing the bridge. There are some buildings right after the bridge, as well as a fountain.
There was a cute rabbit on the road right in the beginning.
The first spring is in the village Ribnica. This first part of the hike is a more shaded forest trail, but once you leave the forest the views really become breathtaking!
There are two more springs along the trail, the last one just before the Korab Waterfall.
All the time I was in anticipation to hear and see the great Korab Waterfall, which with its 100-138 m is the highest waterfall of Macedonia, only to find out that is was basically dry! There just was some mist at the top of the waterfall where the wind dispersed the little water that was left! My visit was end of July 2023 and it turns out that the best time to visit the waterfall is late May and early June as it may dry up in early July.
Despite this disappointment, the views during the hike and the great landscape still made this my favorite hike in 2023! This hike gets 5 out of 5 stars!
From the Korab Waterfall it is up to you if you walk the same way back or continue the hike like I did (which adds 4 additional km and about 800 m additional ascent, including a steep descent which may be very overgrown depending on the time of the year).
Note that is required to buy a ticket when you go hiking in Mavrovo National Park. This can be done online (https://npmavrovo.mk/tickets) or in person at the Information Point just outside the village Mavrovi Anovi (location: https://goo.gl/maps/vKJyEXSjDrhDn2V5A). In 2023 the price was 30 MKD (0.5 Euro) per person per day.
You can view more pictures and download the GPS track of this hike here: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/ribnica-to-korab-waterfall-in-mavrovo-national-park-144907920
In case you wonder what the waterfall should have looked like, see this picture from https://macedonia-timeless.com/
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