Prespa Lakes

Lake in

In the center of the Balkans where Albania meets Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia meet, lie two blue lakes surrounded by high snow-capped mountains. The Megali (Great) Prespa lake is divided between North Macedonia, Albania, Greece and the and Mikri (Small) Prespa Lake is shared with Greece. They were once a single lake but today they are separated by a narrow isthmus formed by sediment deposits.

you can take a boat trip out to explore the island of Maligrad (Little town Macedonian) which rises steeply from the lake. There is a 14th century church within a natural rock shelter on the south of the island. You can swim from the island when the weather is warm enough although as the lake is 850m above sea level the water is noticeable colder that Lake Ohrid which is at 700m.

The island of Golemgrad (Big Town) lie in Macedonian waters and is part of the Galičica National Park. There is a 14th century church and the remains of a Roman villa. Its is named ‘snake island’ due to the high concentration of harmless water snakes and the venomous land snakes!

Prespa is an ideal base for a few days of hiking, bird watching or cycling and a boat trip is a good opportunity to see pelicans and cormorants.

The largest town in the Prespa Lakes region is Resen in North Macedonia.

The Prespa Lakes appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting !

Other names of Prespa Lakes

The Prespa Lakes has the following names: Prespansko Ezero(Albanian), Megáli Préspa (Greek).

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Visiting Prespa Lakes

Duration: 1 hours

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