Macedonia & the north
The part of Greece nobody has been to: lake country on three borders, black-pine forest, Byzantine churches by the hundred, and snow from December to March.
Prespa, first light 
Naoussa, November - Image slotSkiing Kaimaktsalan — Macedonia (north). The highest slopes in the country, above a crater lake, on a border ridge.
- Image slotPrespa by boat — Macedonia (north). Out to the hermitages and the submerged church, with pelicans on the water.
- Image slotThe Arcturos bear sanctuary — Macedonia (north). Rescued brown bears in forest enclosure at Nymfaio — serious conservation, not a zoo.
- Image slotPozar thermal baths — Macedonia (north). Steaming natural pools in a snowbound gorge below Kaimaktsalan.
The character of the place
Prespa is two lakes shared between Greece, Albania and North Macedonia — a bird reserve of international importance, with pelicans, island churches and hermitages painted on cliff faces above the water. It is the quietest place in the country.
Kastoria sits on a peninsula in its own lake, with seventy-odd Byzantine churches and a fur trade that has run since the fifteenth century. Nymfaio, an hour away, is a restored stone village at 1,350 metres with a European brown bear sanctuary next to it.
The skiing is the real surprise. Kaimaktsalan reaches 2,480 metres above a crater lake — the highest lift-served skiing in Greece — and Vasilitsa's black-pine slopes in the Pindus are empty on a weekday.
Worth the day
Skiing Kaimaktsalan
The highest slopes in the country, above a crater lake, on a border ridge.
Prespa by boat
Out to the hermitages and the submerged church, with pelicans on the water.
The Arcturos bear sanctuary
Rescued brown bears in forest enclosure at Nymfaio — serious conservation, not a zoo.
Pozar thermal baths
Steaming natural pools in a snowbound gorge below Kaimaktsalan.
Where to base yourself
Nymfaio
A restored stone village in beech forest at 1,350 metres, with a handful of very good guesthouses.
Psarades, Prespa
A lakeside fishing hamlet on the border, with boats to the painted cliffs.
Kastoria or Edessa
Lake town with the Byzantine churches, or waterfall town on the way to Kaimaktsalan.
What to skip
July and August. This is a cold-weather and shoulder-season region; the summer here is beside the point.
Three ways this region is travelled
Worked examples, not products. Each opens day by day, with the route drawn on a map.
6 days · May – June, September – October
Lake country, Byzantine and wild
- Thessaloniki
- Kastoria
- Nymfaio
- Prespa
Byzantine churches, a fur-trading town, a bear sanctuary and a lake shared with two countries.
5 days · January – March
The highest snow in Greece
- Thessaloniki
- Edessa
- Kaimaktsalan
- Pozar
Crater-lake ski slopes, a waterfall town and thermal baths in a snowbound gorge.
8 days · May – June, September – October
A slow drive through the far north
- Thessaloniki
- Edessa
- Nymfaio
- Kastoria
- Prespa
The full loop, unhurried — waterfalls, a bear sanctuary, a lake town of frescoes, and the border lake.
Pairs well with
- Halkidiki & Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is the gateway and deserves two nights of its own.
- Epirus & Zagori
The Egnatia links them — two halves of mountain Greece.