Debar sits in the far west of North Macedonia, close to the Albanian border, in a bowl of hills at the northern end of an artificial lake. It is a town of eighteen thousand people with a mixed population, mostly Albanian and Macedonian, a long history of trade and a reputation for craft: woodcarving, silverwork and weaving. Its old bazaar, its mosques and churches and a cluster of small spas on the outskirts give it a layered feel, and the pace of life is easy. The lake was created in the 1960s by the Spilje dam on the Black Drin.
The road north from Debar is where the ride begins. It follows the Radika River up a spectacular gorge into the Mavrovo National Park, one of the largest in the country, and the walls of the canyon are steep and thick with forest. Halfway up, the monastery of St Jovan Bigorski clings to a cliff above the river, with a carved wooden iconostasis from the nineteenth century, so intricately worked that it is considered one of the finest in the Balkans. The monks sell honey and rakija.
Beyond the gorge, the valley opens into the Mavrovo basin, with its lake, ski slopes and mountain villages. The village of Galicnik is perched on a ridge at over fourteen hundred metres, famous for a wedding festival held every July in which traditional dress, music and dance are on display. The roads to it are steep and tight, with sharp bends and few barriers, and the surface is variable. Weather in the mountains changes fast, with cold nights even in summer, and snow closes the high roads in winter.
Debar has fuel stations on the main road, and the nearest large town in the valley is Gostivar, so fill up here before the climb. There is little out in the mountains, but small cafes serve grilled meat, cheese pie and strong coffee. The best months are May to October. Mountain roads have livestock, wandering dogs and the occasional tractor, so keep your speed down. The reward is a landscape of wild forest and high pasture, little visited and very quiet.