Prespa lakes, shared by Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia.
The Prespa lakes are two freshwater lakes in southeast Europe, shared by Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia. Of the total surface area, 176.3 km2 belong to North Macedonia, 46.3 km2 to Albania, and 36.4 km2 to Greece. They are the highest tectonic lakes in the Balkans, standing at an elevation of 853 m.
Prespa Lake is a tectonic lake with freshwater that consists of two parts: Great and Small Prespa.
The water level is 849 meters above sea level and has a depth of more than 50 meters. Great Prespa lies between Macedonia, Greece, and Albania, while the small lake with a surface of 138 km2 is shared only between Greece and Albania.
Prespa Park
The Prespa Park has rich flora and fauna. It offers natural monuments such as the Cave of the Tren, the Rampage of the Cinemas, the Vault of Zaver, the Maligrad Island, the Mummy Rocks, the Oaks of the Monastery Mountain.
Besides the natural heritage, this park offers a rich cultural heritage as well. Among the cult objects, we may mention St. Mary’s Church of the 14th century on the Maligrad island, St. George’s Church in Gollomboc Village, St. Mary’s Church in Kallamas, St. Peter’s Church in Zaroshke, etc. Trajan Castle, of outstanding value, is also the Trajan Castle, near the village Tren which was built in the 8th century BC.
Underwater archeological discoveries.
In the early 1980s, there was an expedition led by Moikom Zeqo for underwater archeological discoveries where pots and other assets of an ancient civilization of the area were found. This project was followed in April-May 2016 by a group of archaeologists and diving professionals at the Institute of Archeology, in the expedition called “Prespa 1”, held in Lake Prespa, where traces of inhabitancy dating of 3,100 years were found.
Check tours for Ohrid Lake, a UNESCO site only 40km from these 2 lakes.
