The rolling hills of Mavrovo: Medenica peak from Galichnik

From the large church (St. Peter and Paul) in Galichnik, follow the main road uphill until you pass the parking lot on the left-hand side. Turn left right after and pass the long house on the right, then turn right up the dirt road. You reach another village road along the slopes, which you cross and take the dirt path leading up the hill between the trees. From here on, the trail is fairly well-marked and it is hard to get lost. Stay on the most obvious path, even when smaller tracks fork off to either side.

You continue in north-eastern direction climbing gently up the increasingly steep slopes until you get to a gully where in spring and after rainfalls a small stream runs. Cross the gully and continue on the trail, before a number of serpentines let you ascend a steeper section of the hill. The trail now turns to the right, leading directly towards the sharp cut in the terran to the left of the rock faces. Shortly before you reach the gully from earlier again (this time higher up), the trail starts climbing up the hill to your left until you reach the pass leading to the high plateau of the Bistra mountains. 

The path is less steaper now and eventually you end up on the lush meadows between Govedarnik to the right and Medenica in front of you. A signpost indicates the way up towards the broad ridge on the left. Soon, the trail becomes less visible and eventually disappears altogether, but as long as you keep climbing up towards the ridge, you are fine. Once there, the path reappears and you follow it to the highest point, the summit of Medenica. 

After a well-deserved rest that you better spend taking in the breathtaking scenery of the Korab Mountains to the west and the hilltops of Bistra surrounding you, turn right and follow the ridge first in southern, then in eastern direction. After a while you reach flatter terrain; make sure to stay on the marked path that leads towarads the somewhat steepr slopes below. After descending for another 150 meters, you reach a broad dirt road.

Turn right and continue on this dirt road until you reach the signpost again, where you started your summit push. From here, follow the ascend route back down to the village.

Among the gentle hilltops of the high plateau of Bistra it's easy to forget that you are hiking through alpine terraine here. Keep an eye open for sudden weather changes and don't underestimate the fierce winds that blow here often. The dogs herding the flocks of sheep up here are used to humans, but it's still advisable to avoid them - their job is to keep all strangers away from their protégés, whether they have four or two legs.

From Debar, follow the road to Rostusha / Mavrovo, then turn right at the road leading to Izvor. After about 6 km, the steep road up to Galichnik forks off to the left.

From Tetovo, take the road to Kichevo and follow the signs to Mavrovo. Turn left at the dam and continue on the small road to Mavrovo. Shortly before reaching the resorts, turn right where the vandalized sign leads the way to Galichnik.

As of 2022, there is no regular bus going to Galichnik village. The Debra - Teotovo bus can, however, drop you off at the junction of the Galichnik road near Skudrinje and you can either hitchhike up to the village (might take a while) or organize a taxi to pick you up in advance.

A little up the road from the church (towards Mavrovo), there's a parking lot in the village. The café next door makes good mountain tea.

The name "Medenica" actually goes back to the slavic word for "bear" and among locals the peaks of Bistra are known for frequent sightings of these magnificent animals. They are afraid of humans and there have been no recorded attacks, so if you stay still near the summit of Medenica for a while, there's a good chance you might see a bear roaming around the high plateaus.