Under the slopes of Belasica Mountain

The heritage is alive

Now, I can reach the Smolare Waterfall with lady’s shoes, too. I remember that it wasn’t like that when I saw it for the first time. We needed god, strong, climbing boots because we were going down very steep paths and rocks covered with moss and slippery from the recent rain. My second “date” with this magnificent waterfall on Belasica leaded through stone stairs, built with the hands of the local inhabitants in order to make Smolare Waterfall more accessible to more people.

Since then, I have visited Smolare Waterfall several times. After the project for building an accessible path to it had been completed, it turned into a well-known picnic and tourist destination. As magnets, one after another, new initiative began to rise from Belasice slopes. Initiatives for promotion and animation of new localities which could have the same effect as that of Smolare Waterfall. So, we became familiar with the Kolesino Waterfall, Mokrinski Izvori, Momin Bunar in Strumica, the carvings in Bansko, etc.

The waterfall brings the people together 

The construction of the accessible path to the Smolare Waterfall was the first project from the region of Strumica, supported by the “Living Heritage” programme of the Belgian foundation “King Bauduin and the foundation Open Institute  - Macedonia. The effect that this project had in the village of Smolare and the municipality Novo Selo was far beyond anyone’s expectations. The waterfall, which as a beam of light falls 35 metres against the dark and smooth granite rock attracts children, young people, older people, domestic and foreign visitors – sometimes one thousand a day, says Boro Zekirov, a journalist and a great enthusiast and initiator of the next two initiatives (for the Kolesino Waterfall and Mokrinski Izvori). The local inhabitants, says Zekirov, could not be more surprised in the beginning, and now they raise a number of initiatives to meet and serve the guests. In their intention, they had big support from the municipality Novo Selo. The municipality itself, in fact, was the very initiator and coordinator of this project, and the former mayor Kiril Cavkov, together with the citizens, took part in the construction of the path. Just ask, and the locals will gladly tell you about how they carried stone block and wood for construction of the pat, the fence and the small bridge with their own hands or on their horses, and how, working on the realization of this mutual idea, they managed to overcome the minor, as well as the major arguments and disagreement, how they made barbecue together during the breaks from the hard work, discussing and imaging “what will be when its all done”. And, what they hoped, became true in the end. The village became famous and visited, new perspectives for its development opened, and a great partnership with the local government was established because the new mayor, Nikola Andonov, continued the direction and is planning to improve the infrastructure and the sustainable development of the villages and the municipality through the cultural and the natural heritage.

New perspectives

The story about the Kolesino Waterfall is similar. It’s more difficult to get there, because there isn’t an asphalt road, but they are planning to build one in the municipality Novo Selo. We were lucky to meet a tractor on the road – we “hitchhiked” and we got to the path leading to Kolesino Waterfall with a very unusual transport for us, in a cheerful mood. Similarly as to the Smolare, also towards the Kolesino Waterfall there is a path made of natural stone, ladder and a small bridge, built by the local inhabitants. At the end the waterfall welcomes you. Delightful, lower, but wider than the one in Smolare. Here as well, just as at the Smolare, we couldn’t resist going down from the bridge-“vidikovec”, to touch the water, to walk barefooted in the river, to allow the jets that go down playfully, as marvelous music, from the rocks, to splash us. The local people are proud and satisfied – they make plans for the future, think about building restaurants, enabling the houses to accommodate guests. Boro Zekirov and Panco Stojanov, representatives from the municipality Novo Selo, who “with their whole soul” dedicated to these projects, say that among the population and the municipal structures, but also the large amount of businessmen, there is a consensus – the natural and cultural inheritance is considered a key factor for the local development. What is encouraging is that there is conscience about the sustainable use of those resources and a great care about the protection of the environment and keeping the ecological balance.

 
Integral development

In the organization Foundation Open Society Institute – Macedonia, training was held for the local people, and one of the aims was to incite the conscience for integral development of this region. That means, the people from Smolare will direct the guests also towards the Kolesino Waterfall, and vice versa, to tell them about the other localities they can visit in the surrounding area – the monasteries, “Monospitovsko Blato”, excavation sites and especially, the three other localities where the projects from the net “Living Heritage” took place: the springs in Mokrino, “Momin Bunar” in Strumica and Banja Bansko.

The springs in Mokrino, near the village Mokrino (on half way from Kolesino to Smolare) will take you to an almost fairy-like atmosphere. Dozens of smaller and bigger springs rise from the ground, and some of them rise from the roots of the several hundred-year-old plane trees, that intertwine on the surface. The springs are a holy place for the local inhabitants. They come here traditionally for the celebration of local holidays. The concrete path and the incomplete eave, that decrease the beauty of the region, with the project “Living Heritage” are refined with natural stone that fits the surrounding.

What is especially interesting and favourable is that here you can see several really unusual and wonderful localities in a day or two. The natural beauty – the waterfalls and the springs, are complemented with attractions that are men-made. Thus, on the way to Strumica, you can visit Banja Bansko and ask for carved objects made by the people who live in the Rehabilitation centre, who were trained to work in this traditional skill. In the old part of Strumica, on the other hand, you can visit “Momin Bunar”, that was renovated by the inhabitants themselves, to rest under the shade of the old, protected plane tree, to talk with the local inhabitants and to feel the friendly, neighbour atmosphere of the old neighbourhoods, that are unfortunately disappearing.

With the activities directed towards affirming – through leaflets, the web page which represents all projects of the programme “Living Heritage” (www.zivonasledstvo.org.mk),

through travel agencies, and especially through the media – the visitors who look for unknown natural locations meet these regions. More and more tourist coaches go there, some localities are included in the agenda of the student excursions, in the tourist offer of some agencies, the foreign visitors, journalist crews and cameras are frequent guests. All this is a first step, helped by the programme “Living Heritage”. The perspective remains to be “finished” by the local population…


Marijana Ivanova