Shared between Macedonia and Albania, UNESCO Lake Ohrid is probably the most biodiverse inland water on Earth by surface area: Of the 1,200 plus species within its crystal waves, over 200 are found nowhere else on the entire planet. It is also one of the earliest inhabited areas of Europe with at least 6,000 years of human settlements and countless archaeological wonders.
Along Lake Ohrid’s eastern coast is another natural masterpiece: National Park Galichica, a mountain massif and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. From forested slope to rocky peak, it is an internationally acclaimed epicenter for flora and fauna, most notably butterflies and vascular plants, but also large mammals such as bears, wolves, Balkan chamois and perhaps even Balkan lynx, one of the rarest cats on the entire planet.
In recent years, both the lake and mountain have come under increasing pressure from a variety of human sources including urbanization, illegal construction, overfishing, poor maintenance of wastewater systems and even a swarm of mega-projects, some of which have been successfully avoided, but others which resurface in different guises.
Now it is our mission to create a synchronicity between humankind and the supreme natural resources of the region, bringing both to a better future. Join us on our journey there.