Castles to visit Northern Macedonia

Known as the "Tsar's Towers" (Цареви Kули/Carevi Kuli), this fortress is located halfway up Mount Elenica (971 m) overlooking Strumica to the west. Most of the structure dates from the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel ^I (997-1014). Not much remains of this small castle, but the views are superb. The old keep, known as the "Pirg Tower", has been restored. Elsewhere, the remains of another tower, ramparts, a chapel, a well, a cistern and the powerful gateway to the east, near the signal tower, can be seen.

Located on a hill overlooking Prilep at an altitude of 900 m, these "towers" (Маркови Кули/Markovi Kuli) are both rock formations of volcanic origin and the remains of a fortified town. Included on the Unesco tentative list, the site offers beautiful views over the Pelagonian plain and the surrounding massifs. The citadel was built in the second half of the ^14th century on the initiative of the Serbian king Vukašin Mrnjavčević (c. 1320-1371) and his son Prince Marko (c. 1335-1395), whose name remains associated with the site. Both were vassals of the Ottomans and the last two Christian rulers to rule what is now North Macedonia. The hill has been inhabited at least since antiquity, fortified by the Romans and equipped with the first ramparts in the ^13th century. During the reign of the Mrnjavčević family, the small medieval town extended over a 3.6-hectare acropolis surrounded by two rows of ramparts. Three well-preserved square towers stand in the southern part, just above Prilep. After the death of Prince Marko, the Ottomans took possession of the citadel, and the inhabitants moved below, to the present-day district of Varoš. To reach the fortress ruins, follow the Varoš-Markovi Kuli road. At the strange rock formation known as the "Elephant", the asphalt gives way to a carriage road. The road ends near the "towers", but it's another 15-minute walk to get there.