Travel Guide Evla

This hamlet at 925 m altitude is surrounded by thick beech and oak forests. There are many abandoned houses (there were almost 500 inhabitants here in 1953), but also a vast hunting ground where enthusiasts come to kill wolves... a species that is in danger of extinction in the country. We'd much rather recommend a 3.5 km walk (or 4 x 4) to the small monastery of the Holy Savior (Свети Спас/Sveti Spas). Located at an altitude of 1,210 m, to the west above the hamlet, this is made up of recent buildings and has no monastic community. It does, however, house a troglodyte chapel that was probably occupied by anchorites as early as the 9th century. It preserves traces of undated frescoes (only a portrait of Christ remains) and a precious early icon of Saint Naum of Ohrid, considered to be the oldest representation of the evangelizing saint. You can also hike to some of the abandoned hamlets nearby: Stipona/Стипона, 3 km to the south, and Petrino/Петрино, around 5 km to the north. These trails are unmarked, however, and it's best to ask Evla locals for advice before embarking on them.