The monastery is located In the nearby village of Vodocha (4 km). The church is a complex, built on the foundations of an early Christian Basilica, originating from the 5th and 6th century. The fresco painting inside the church is from the 10th to 12th centuries. In the churchyard, you can see the excavation site with remains of early Christian buildings and a necropolis, where around 1000 graves where found, filled with jewellery and ceramics. Today, the monastery is open to visitors and divided into two parts: the quarters for the monks and the residential quarters for the visitors.

The Veljusa Monastery is built on a hill in the village of Veljusa. It is one of the most valuable symbols of orthodoxy in the Republic of Macedonia. The exceptional church is dedicated to the Holy Mother of God Eleusa, meaning “showing mercy”. It abounds with remarkable frescos originating from two periods, from the foundation of the church in 1080 and from the 12th century. Once, it used to be a home of monks, but since 1996 and with the renewal of the monastic life it became a female monastery. Today, there is a sisterhood of around ten nuns whose day starts and ends with prayer. Their communication is minimal, but with the host sister responsible for the visitors you are going to feel more than welcomed in this holy quiet place situated in an incredibly scenic area. The sisterhood is in charge of making a lot of handicraft items in their workshop, so it is possible to purchase some of the items, put for sale.

You will be able to explore the town’s center, the park, or visit some of the local branded stores. We can have our lunch break here, before departing to the slope of Belasica for the waterfall visit.

After the break, we will continue our way for the foothills of Belasica, to the Kolesino waterfall. We have about 10 minutes walk to the falls, in beautiful natural surroundings. The waterfall is 610 meters above sea level, and the water falls from about 19 meters. For the ones who want to explore a little more, there is a small trail over the cliffs for a view from the top of the waterfall.