Brajchino  Ecotourism  Macedonia West Balkan

The village of Brajchino is set 6 kilometer from Lake Prespa in an exceedingly natural depression on the sting of Pelister’s park. it's an ideal location for combining out of doors activities on the mountain with the leisure of the lake. Brajchino  is an Ecotourism destination,  the village has maintained its ancient character associated an intimate link with its surroundings.

Brajchino may be a mountain village (at associate altitude of concerning one thousand m. on top of ocean level) disturbed solely by the roaring sound of the native stream and by the evening winds rustling through the trees. often you'll hear a dog barking, a cock crowing or a cow-bell ringing.

The village attractions and services are developed by the ecotourism project in conjunction with the inhabitants of Brajchino. Direct contact with the native individuals and their welcome makes your keep in Brajchino a singular expertise.The village incorporates a mountain nature path leading from the village to Golemo Ezero atop baba Mountain.

The path links Prespa Lake with Pelister park and provides smart views of the mountains. Brajchino is additionally home to a centuries' previous religious residence named St. Petka, and each August seventh and eighth there's a celebration for it.

There are 5 other churches within the village: St. Bogorodica, that is found in an exceedingly cave high on a mountain; St. Ilja, the village's initial school; St. Atanas, same to be designed on the spot of associate older religious residence destroyed by the Turks; St. Arangel, set high within the mountains; and St. Nikola . The village is additionally better-known for its design.

You can See also in Brajchino

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Brajčino is mostly visited for its breath-taking nature, but it is also famous for its beautiful architecture, churches, and its monastery:

• St. Petka - this beautiful monastery was built sometime in the 1500s. It is the main tourist attraction in Brajčino. There are two ways to get there, by car or by foot. It takes about 15 minutes to get there by foot and a little longer by car. Every August 7th the monastery gives free meals to anyone who comes, there is also music and dancing.


• St. Bogorodica - this church was built inside a large cave, high up on a mountain a couple hundred years ago. It is visible from anywhere in the village. It is the hardest church to get to in Brajčino. The only way to get to it is by foot, which takes several hours. The path is steep and very tough, but it is worth it.


• St. Arangel - this church, built in 1975, is also located in the mountains, however it is not nearly as tough to get to as St. Bogorodica. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by foot.


• St. Ilja - this church, built in 1864, is nothing more than four walls, but what makes it significant is that it was the first school in the village. The church was last renovated in 1919.


• St. Atanas - According to legend, where St. Atanas now stands, there was a large monastery that was burned by the local Turkish garrison. It is said to be the site where Car Samoil's brother became a monk and later died. A village festival used to take place on St. Atanas Day. After morning mass people would go down to the village and dance until late evening, but this celebration hasn't been observed since World War II. The present St. Atanas was built in the 1970s. Large human bones have been found under the church and are believed to be from a race of human giants long ago.


• St. Nikola


• Bey's House - home of the last Turkish regional commander. The house has a U-shape and a row of four rooms with a big terrace, all organized around a closed cobblestone yard. Cattle lived on the ground floor, while the people lived on the second floor. The house is situated such that it overlooks the village entrance and has a great view of Prespa Lake.


• Naum Mačkov House - built in 1923, on a hill away from the other houses.

• Stefan Dzhajkov's House - Stefan Dzhajkov lived a life of poverty but lived to be 100 years old thanks to his understanding of hardships. While in the U.S.A., he smuggled alcohol during Prohibition and counterfeited money, and was sent to the same jail as Al Capone. He was later deported back to Brajčino and considered a local legend due to his extraordinary wisdom and experience. His house today is mostly ruins.


• Paskumovci House - one of four houses spared from fires set by Turkish troops during the 1903 Ilinden uprising.


• Petre Kostov's House - a typical example of Brajčino architecture, located in Gorno Malo.

 

Get In Brajchino

By plane

There is no airport in Brajčino or in the Prespa Lake area, but the Ohrid Airport is only about an hour drive from the village.

By bus

A bus from Bitola stops in Brajčino twice everyday.

By car

There are two roads to lead to Brajčino, one is from Bitola and the other starts in Resen.

Get around Brajchino

By car

It is not the best choice to get around Brajčino by driving because the entire village can easily be covered by walking and driving in the narrow roads can be a hassle.

By foot

The best way to get around Brajčino is by foot because it is easier to experience the village's amazing natural beauty, and because many paths in the village are not suitable for cars.

 

Ecotourism in Macedonia as described by EU newsletter

EU Newsletter
JUNE 2008 Edition

Ecotourism is a tourism which directly or indirectly promotes and supports sustainable economic development. Ecotourism can generate financial support for the formation, management and protection of natural areas. Having no coast, Macedonia can not pretend to become a mass-tourism destination like Croatia or Montenegro. The geographical and climatic conditions of Macedonia are to favour the development of tourism in an ecological environment.

Therefore, Macedonia should follow the example of small countries with very rich natural and ecological reserves such as Costa Rica or Nepal, for which ecotourism has become an important source of income. The drawback of ecotourism, like any kind of tourism, is that it can lead to a certain loss of values or customs, that is why Macedonia should implement very carefully ecotourism facilities with the outside assistance of NGO’s for a backup option due to uncertainties of the tourism market.

QUICK FACTS:
Number of tourists (2006): 499, 473 (total)
domestic: 297, 116;
foreign: 202, 357 ;
Number of tourists in Lake Ohrid: 250, 000 domestic and foreign in 2007;
Employees: around 11, 000;
Increase of employment (2007-08): 41.4%
Countries of origin of tourists (mostly): Serbia: 17%; Greece : 11%; Bulgaria : 9%; Albania : 7%.

Modest Beginnings
In December 2007, the Ministry of economy of Macedonia finally announced a development strategy for tourism until 2012. The strategy aims to create more than 2,000 new jobs and to improve by 28% the foreign and domestic investment in the tourism sector.
Ecotourism is still at a starting stage in Macedonia. Nevertheless, several local initiatives have already been undertaken: in the Skopje region, five ecotourism zones have been selected: Vodno-Matka, Jakupica, Taor, Katlanovo and Skopska Crna Gora.

The political party DOM is setting up an eco-village in Babino and is promoting cultural tourism in Vitoliste in Mariovo district. A Macedonian emigrant is trying to renew in an environmental friendly way the village of Janse in Reka region in order to prevent the inhabitants to leave the village.
But until now, the most significant ongoing projects are implemented with international cooperation: the project “Sustainable development through ecotourism and environmental education in protected areas”, financed by the German agency GTZ, is implemented in Galicica National Park by the Alliance for Lake Cooperation in Ohrid and Prespa with the help of six NGOs from Serbia, Albania and Bulgaria.

Big Potential
EU funds, through the pre-accession assistance and neignbourhood policy, are good source for developing eco-tourism. Through the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU is financing the development of ecotourism in Bosilovo and Monospitovo and a project for nature protection in the cross boarder zone of Dupnica-Kriva Palanka. This also helps Macedonia to follow Bulgarian examples where ecotourism is at a more developed state. Bilateral initiatives aiming promotion of ecotourism need also to be taken in consideration, like the pilot ecotourism project implemented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Brajcino area.
Macedonia has a considerable potential for ecotourism with not less than 33 natural conservation areas. International cooperation can really help Macedonia for the capacity building and organizational development of ecotourism but it is to the government to have a clear strategy: it is its role to take the optimal decisions and to create proper conditions for ecotourism so that the actors concerned could effectively benefit from it. The state has really to engage Macedonia into the niche of ecotourism through marketing campaign and to become conscious of the advantages from the respect of Macedonian nature. Indeed, ecotourism is unsustainable without ecology, so real efforts have to be done to clean the country and to improve individual awareness on environmental issues, so that 2009 could really become the year for green initiatives in Macedonia.