Brajcino

Brajčino sits in a valley on the Prespa side of the Pelister massif, a village of stone houses and old churches that emptied through the twentieth century and has been partly revived through village tourism, with families running guesthouses and marked walking routes climbing from the village into the Pelister park. Five churches stand in and around the village, and the surrounding country is beech forest and orchard.

History

The village has two known medieval archaeological sites, the church and graveyard of St Athanasius and the remains of a fortress called Kula. In 1873, under the name Raitchino, it was recorded with 34 households (Wikipedia, Brajčino).

The landscape

• The stone village - old houses in a valley below the Pelister massif.
• The five churches - the chapels standing in and around the settlement.
• The walking routes - marked paths climbing into Pelister National Park.
• The beech forest - the woodland covering the slopes above.

When to go

May to October is the walking season. Autumn colour in the beech is good. Winter closes the higher routes.

Practical notes

Accommodation is family guesthouses and needs booking. The road in is narrow. Trail marking above the village is patchy.

Nearby

Lake Prespa is below, and Pelister is above.

Key facts