The Story of the Bogomils and Babuna Waterfall

Babuns, Bogomils… the most interesting figures of the medieval past, typical for the Azot area, located in the centre of the country, known for Solunska Glava and the natural beauties.

The Bogomils’ doctrine is specific in terms of rejecting the cross, communion, not believing that Jesus Christ was born to a common woman, disregarding of the icons, baptism, opposing luxury, non-recognition of the church order and of the feudalists… commitment to, and emphasizing of, the freedom of conscience and of humans, equality, and social justice.Bogomilism shall spread not only on the Balkan Peninsula, but also to Italy, central Europe, to Spain.

In Bogomila, you shall immediately notice the old Roman bridge, operational for centuries, with an impressive arch over Babuna River.The memorial house of Petar Pop Arsov, one of the founders of the Macedonian revolutionary organisation, can be found in the vicinity.This region also includes Papradishte and Oreshe, Miyaks islands in the middle of the region occupied by Brsjaci.

The road to the Babuna River springs leads from the Nezhilovo village.It takes three to four hours of walking to reach the spring with clean and very cold water.Following the walk is on a wide dirt road, after about six kilometres, there is an exceptional attractive narrow hiking trail. Crossing over several streams, the road is parallel to the river, reaching an altitude exceeding 1,300 metres.The well-marked trail leads to the heart of Mokra Mountain.Huge oak trees offer pleasant shades, and the view to Nezhilovi Steni (Rocks) is daunting.The most beautiful part of the trail is at about hundred metres under the springs.

Amazing waterfall with height of about ten metres.The bravest will enter the cold waters, but only for a few seconds.And the colour is particularly unusual.The greenish blue colour makes the entire setting particularly magical.This mountain massif is rich in water, which is supported by the fact that the spring of one of the most beautiful and shortest rivers in the country, Belica, is on the west side of the mountain, in the Poreche area.

The big fishpond and restaurant in Nezhilovo is an ideal place for a hiking break, which is, in fact, the last stop of the Bogomila tour.

Logistical information:Tour departure point is Veles.The tour includes organised transport to village Nezhilovo.The trail from the Nezhilovo village to the waterfalls on the Babuna River, in both directions, is in length of about 18 kilometers.Good physical fitness and appropriate clothing and footwear are required for the walk in nature.The required tour realization duration is about seven hours.

*The photographs and the text used in this brochure were produced within the framework of the project “Capacity and Innovation of Tourism Services for Sustainable Local Economic Development” implemented by Finance Think and funded by LRCP and EU.