Ljubanci to Crn Kamen peak via small waterfall trail

See https://mymacedoniablog.wordpress.com/ for more info about sightseeing and hiking in Macedonia

This very nice hike starts in the village Ljubanci, about 15 km north of Skopje on the Skopska Crna Gora mountain. It is 19 km long with almost 1100 m climbing. Bus 47 should bring you from Skopje to Ljubanci.

I parked the car along the road near the center of Ljubanci at the start of this GPS track because I was not sure if there would be parking space further uphill. Retrospectively, there is a quite large parking at the fish restaurant Kvin (Queen) further uphill which would save you less than 1 km walking, but you would also miss the church of St Bogorodica in Ljubanci. The church is not particularly interesting so that’s up to you!

Right after the start there is a monument for the armed conflict/insurgency in 2001. It states something like “To lay one’s life for the good and the future of your own people is most noble, for which we express immense gratitude and highest respect. To our sons, members of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM)”.

Further uphill you pass the fish restaurant Kvin (Queen), which actually may be an interesting place to end this hike. I have not yet eaten there myself! This path is very pleasant, with a small river next to it.

After about 3.5 km there is a sign indicating “small waterfall trail” to the Crn Kamen peak. This trail was going in a different direction than the track that I was following (https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/ljubanci-crni-kamen-ljubanci-24502447#) which was making a left turn at this point). But since I’m a big fan of small waterfalls I decided to take my chance and hope that the “small waterfall trail” would converge again with the track I was following. That was a good decision because the “small waterfall trail” turned out to be very beautiful with many, yes, small waterfalls. However, BE AWARE that you have to cross the small river a couple of times which can get slippery when jumping from one side to the other.

After about 1.3 km of small waterfalls, the trail reached the original GPS track that I was following again (indicated with the waypoint “crossing+waterfall”). There are some ruins right after that crossing.

Just under the Crn Kamen peak there was another sign where you can choose to reach the Crn Kamen peak in 2 km/1h or 4.5km/2h. Since the first option appeared very steep and I wanted to enjoy the hike rather than having a huge workout, I chose the second option (and continued following the original GPS track). It was rather 3.5 km to reach the Crn Kamen peak than 4.5km though.

The approach of the Crn Kamen peak from the east side appeared daunting at first but turned out to be quite safe and easy (just like the approach from the west that I had done before during a hike from the village Brodec to Crn Kamen).

The next part is also quite beautiful with good views. You reach the peak Chuka on your way down as well.

You’ll have some nice views of the village Ljubanci at the end.

You can pay a short visit to the Church of St Nikola in Ljubanci that appears to have been renovated recently (not to be confused with the Monastery of St Nikola in the hills near Ljubanci), and the Church of St Bogorodica. According to Wikipedia St Bogorodica dates back to the Middle Ages and was rebuilt in 1920 on an old foundation.

This was a very nice hike, so close to Skopje and yet you have the feeling to be completely out in nature. It gets 4 points out of 5 from me.