Mavrovo is the name of a lake, a village, and a very large national park, and the three overlap in a way that confuses everybody for the first ten minutes. The park is the biggest in North Macedonia, a block of high ranges along the Albanian border including Korab, the country's top peak, and the Radika river collects most of its water. The reservoir was built in the 1950s to feed a hydropower scheme, and it covered a church. The bell tower of St Nikola still stands in the lake when the water is low, a little stone drowned thing that has become the emblem of the place, and it is the picture you will see on every postcard in the region.
The approach from the east climbs out of the Polog valley through gorges and beech woods, and the road is easy riding: good surface, long bends, a few switchbacks, and traffic that thins out the higher you go. Weather is the main thing to respect. The valley can be hot and still and the lake shore can be cool, with a wind that comes straight off the water. In winter the village turns into a ski resort, and chains and snow tyres are the norm from late autumn. In summer it empties out to a few walkers and fishermen.
The park shelters brown bear and wolf, and the Balkan lynx, a rare animal and a point of real national pride, lives in these mountains in small numbers. You will not see one. What you might see are shepherds and their big white dogs, and it is wise to give those dogs a wide, calm berth if the flock is near the road.
For practical purposes, Rostuša and Gostivar are the bigger centres for fuel and shopping, and the village itself has a few small hotels, cafés and a restaurant or two near the shore. Order trout or lamb, the bread is baked fresh, and the sheep cheese is salty and good. The side road towards Galičnik leaves close by, and it deserves its detour.