
The beautiful Monastery of St Spas with its well kept grounds is located above the village Gorno (Upper) Lakocherej. It is a working monastery where you can rent a room for only 5 euros per night (price in 2020). This definitely is a well hidden gem because I had not heard of this monastery during more than 15 years of visits to Ohrid. I accidentally noticed it on the digital OpenStreetMap in 2020.

The Church of St Spas on the monastery grounds dates back to the 15th century and was fresco-painted in 1971.

Iconostasis 
Fresco
We got a very nice tour of the lodging houses by the caretaker of the monastery. There are special meeting rooms and bed rooms for church officials. In addition, there is a huge kitchen and dining hall.



After the tour we were invited to have some drinks with the other guests. This must be a great place to stay, only about 20 minutes by car from Ohrid. Reservations can be made by phone (probably in Macedonian only): 077-899580. Location: 41°10’53.5″N 20°47’31.9″E

Along the way from Gorno Lakocherej to the Monastery of St Spas you will pass the Church of St Ilija. It was still under construction in 2020. Location: N41° 10′ 57.8″ E20° 47′ 56.4″.

The small church dedicated to St John the Baptist was closed when we visited. Location: N41° 10′ 03.6″ E20° 48′ 28.5″.
The new Church of St Atanasij is located a bit further down the same road and was also closed. Location: N41° 09′ 51.3″ E20° 48′ 41.9″.

There is another church in Gorno Lakocherej, dedicated to St Nikola, which we unfortunately missed.
While you are in the neighborhood, you can also have a visit to the Church of St Nedela in Dolno (Lower) Lakocherej. The church of St Nedela contains some interesting spolia (repurposed building stones).
