Located in the western-central part of the country, the National Park of Mavrovo offers the highest mountain peaks in Macedonia, topped by the imposing Great Korab Mountain (2,764 meters or 9,069 feet high). Mavrovo’s impressive forests contain more than 100 rare species of trees, and its rugged hilltops are rich in wild herbs and teas that can be easily collected by hand. Lake Mavrovo located just beneath the ski center makes the National Park of Mavrovo a popular weekend resort all year round.

The largest artificial lake in Macedonia is part of Mavrovo National Park. Due to its elevation (over 1,000 meters, or 3,000 feet), this mountain lake sometimes freezes over in winter. Abundant with the famous trout, Lake Mavrovo also makes for an excellent swimming and boating spot in the summer months. An additional point of interest is the half-submerged church in the middle of the lake.

The picturesque city of Ohrid is the sublime lakeside point that for many represents the culmination of the N. Macedonian experience, a kingdom of light and water, a repository of ancient ruins from N. Macedonia’s earlier kingdoms. Ohrid’s major attractions are all located within a remarkably concentrated and eminently walkable area, among and above the narrow streets of the Old Town lined with restaurants and cafés perfectly suited for relaxing in the cool summer evenings. Ohrid’s many café bars and nightclubs also make for a vibrant nightlife. Notable for once having had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, it is thus often referred to as "Jerusalem of the Balkans." Roman amphitheatre, Church of St Sophia and St Clement, Tsar Samoil's fortress and Ohrid's marketplace are some of the places to visit.

As for the lake itself, it is so large and so deep that one might mistake it for a small sea. Full range of water sports, fishing andboating is available, and numerous churches alongside Ohrid’s lake shores make for fascinating side trips and walks. The wooded ridge above the lake’s eastern shore is largely taken up by the National Park of Galichica, an unspoiled wilderness ideally suitable for nature enthusiasts. The uniqueness of Lake Ohrid and the city’s historical architecture has been attested by UNESCO, honoring it with an official designation as one of the few places on the cultural institution’s list “World Inheritance”.

Bitola, historically known as Monastir or Manastır, is situated in the southwestern part of the Republic of N. Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. Its location in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece, makes it an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. Bitola is the second largest city in the country, the seat of the Bitola Municipality.

Bitola is also one of the oldest cities on the territory in the Republic of N. Macedonia. It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon, after he had conquered the surrounding region of Lyncestis and incorporated it into his kingdom of Macedon. The city was named in honour of the mythological Greek hero Heracles. During the Ottoman rule the city together with Salonica were the two reigning cities of Ottoman Rumelia.

Famous for its dazzling mosaics, ancient theatre and Roman baths, Heraclea is the most vividly preserved city from the surviving Ancient Macedonian Empire in the country. Heraclea was a strategically important town during the Hellenistic period, as it was at the edge of Macedon's border with Epirus to the west, and to the non-Greek world to the north, until the middle of the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered Macedon and destroyed its political power.