Travel Guide Pelister National Park

Pelister National Park (Национален Парк Пелистер/Nacionalen Park Plister) covers 121.5 km2 in the Baba massif, which culminates at Mount Pelister, 2,601 m above sea level, between the Pelagonian plain (to the east), the Prespa Lake valley (to the west), Mount Bigla (to the north) and the Greek border (to the south). Divided between the municipalities of Bitola and Resen, the park comprises seven villages: Trnovo/Трново (260 inhabitants), Dihovo/Дихово (210), Magarevo/Магарево (80), Nižepole/Нижеполе (120), Capari/Цапари (300), Rotino/Ротино (90) and Malovište/Маловиште (50). Trnovo and Dihovo are the main entrances by road. Both villages are about 7.5 km west of Bitola. Local bus services: ask at the Bitola bus station.Created in 1948, this is the oldest and smallest of the four national parks in North Macedonia. Renowned for its thick forests, hiking trails and small glacial lakes, the park is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including the emblematic Macedonian pine(Pinus peuce). Locally known as molika, it grows at altitudes of between 1,000 and 2,200 m, and can reach 40 m in height. The park is home to numerous accommodation facilities and two small ski resorts. But the park also bears the scars of the Battle of Manastir, in March 1917, when the 76th and 156th French divisions attempted to capture the Bulgarian and German-held Mount Pelister.