Monastery of Saint Naum

Monastery of Saint Naum tickets: which one to buy

The Monastery of Saint Naum stands on a cliff above Lake Ohrid, about thirty kilometres south of the town of Ohrid in North Macedonia, close to the Albanian border, and a small admission is charged for the church. Most visitors arrive by boat from Ohrid, a trip of about an hour and a half across the lake, which is a highlight in itself, or by car or bus along the lake shore. Boat tours often stop at the Bay of Bones, a reconstructed prehistoric pile dwelling settlement, on the way.

Beside the monastery, the springs of the Black Drim river feed Lake Ohrid, and rowing boats take visitors through the clear, green spring waters, a popular addition. The area has restaurants, a hotel in the monastery grounds and stalls. Peacocks wander around the monastery courtyard. Dress modestly in the church. Rowing boat trips on the springs are sold at a kiosk near the monastery entrance.

Visiting Monastery of Saint Naum: what to see

Saint Naum was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and, with Saint Clement, one of the founders of Slavic literacy and culture in the Ohrid region. He founded the monastery at the end of the ninth century, and he was buried here in 910. The original church was destroyed during the Ottoman period and rebuilt in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, keeping its Byzantine form with a dome. Inside, the church is decorated with frescoes from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, including scenes of the life and miracles of Saint Naum, and a carved wooden iconostasis from 1711.

The saint's tomb is in a side chapel, and according to legend, if you put your ear to the stone you can hear his heartbeat. The monastery buildings around the church, with their wooden balconies, overlook the lake and the mountains of Galicica National Park. The monastery complex includes a small museum and a hotel in former monks' cells, and the courtyard offers views over the water. The frescoes in the narthex show the saint healing the sick. Fragments of the medieval church are visible in the foundations. The peacocks in the courtyard have become a symbol of the site.

Monastery of Saint Naum opening hours and the best time to go

The monastery is open daily. Summer is the busiest season, when boats from Ohrid run frequently and the springs and beaches nearby are crowded; mornings are quieter. Spring and autumn are pleasant, with fewer visitors and beautiful light over the lake. Winter is quiet, and boat trips run less often. The feast of Saint Naum on 3 July brings pilgrims and celebrations. The water of the springs is cold all year, even in summer. Allow about an hour for the monastery and the springs, or a full day with the boat trip from Ohrid, a swim and lunch of Ohrid trout at one of the restaurants. Buses from Ohrid run several times a day in summer, and the trip along the lake shore takes about forty minutes.