We visited the village Grad near Delchevo to see the Fortress (Kale) named Gradishte (Town) and the Konjska Dupka (Horse Hole) Cave. We combined these two sights in a short circular hike of about 3 km.
The archeological site Gradishte is located above the village Grad. The oldest remains date back to the Copper Age (3500 BC), then to the Bronze Age, the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
The site is presumed to be the Late Antique (3rd-7th century) city of Armonia (also spelled Armonija or Harmonia).
Several crosses from the 10th-12th century were found on the site, the latest one dates from the 18th century. Source: https://kks.org.mk/360/gradiste-grad/
The remains testify to the existence of a large settlement that existed since prehistoric times (the Copper Age). Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins, stone vessels, ceramics, pithoi (ceramic storage jars) have been found at the site.
A info booklet provided by our host of Villa River in Pehchevo says the following about the fortress:
“In 2001 archeologists found a metal figure of a female deity (mother with an
altar), which dates back to about 5500 years ago, and an Eneolithic (Copper Age) house was excavated in the condition it was in at that time. There was a fireplace with four ceramic vessels in it. Settlements from the Bronze Age have also been
discovered in that area. According to the findings, the site was a well-fortified
fortress, with an acropolis on the top of the hill and a tower for observing the
surroundings. So far, no early Christian church has been found in Grad, although
according to tradition there were several churches in the village. In the Middle
Ages, there was a developed church life, as evidenced by the bronze crosses
found in 2001. Some of the artifacts and a model of the preserved towers can be
seen in the archaeological exhibition at the Cultural Center in Delchevo.”
Fact is that it was very nice to visit the restored towers of the fortress. The place offers a very nice view of the village Grad and the surroundings.
You can already see the other destination of this short hike from the hill with the fortress: The Horse Hole cave of Konjska Dupka.
A sign at the start of the path to the cave says: “Konjska Dupka (Horse Hole) is a short cave. According to the current findings, it is the easternmost cave in the republic of Macedonia. It is built in limestone rocks that are present on a small area in the very vicinity of the village Grad. The entrance itself is wide, same as the initial inner part which represents a small cave hall, with a length of 12 m and a width of about 3-4 m. At the end of the hall, on the left (north) side, a canal with a length of 8 m ascends almost vertically, but it is very narrow and impassable. It is poor in cave decorations, however archeological traces of an ancient human presence have been found”
The path to the cave was overgrown and in very poor condition when we visited in 2025, and it was a bit difficult to get to the cave. The wooden ladder that was supposed to help you climb some steep rocks was burned and falling apart. Eventually I managed to climb up without the help of the ladder, but it was a bit risky, so be warned!
During my visit to the cave it started to rain and the way back was even more difficult because everything became very slippery, despite having hiking boots on.
According to one source, there are several more short caves up to 10 m long in the vicinity, as well as a limestone tunnel through which an 18 m long underground watercourse passes. We did not look for them at the time of visiting.
According to legends, there was a secret passage to Bulgaria through which the revolutionists passed unnoticed by the Ottoman authorities.
In the pre-independence period, monks and priests hid in the cave, as evidenced by the carved drawings on the central wall of the cave. Indeed, in one of the pictures you can see a cross carved into the rocks. There is also a strange and disturbing face underneath the cross I noticed later, do you see it too???
We combined our visit to the village Grad with the following other sights:
– The 17th century Church of St Archangel Michael near the village Dramche
– Kiselica Cave near the village Kiselica
– Church of St Petka (12th or 14th century) near Selnik (probably closed and therefore not worth the effort)
– Ochipala Cave and Tunnel (I visited them another day but they are in the vicinity of the other sights)
You can view and download the GPS track for this short hike here: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/village-grad-fortress-gradishte-and-konjska-dupka-cave-237082396
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