Stone Town of Kuklica

Kratovo, North Macedonia

The stone town is an area consisting of over 120 naturally formed stone pillars, located in the village of Kuklica, near Kratovo.

There are two main legends surrounding the formation of the strange stone pillars in Kuklica. The most famous legend is that of a man who could not decide which of two women he should marry. So, the man planned to marry each woman on the same day at different times. When the first wedding was in progress, the woman to marry the man second went to see who was getting married on the same day as she. When she saw her future husband marrying another woman, she cursed all in attendance at the wedding and turned them into stone.

Another popular legend is that there was once a forest in the area, but due to battles it was burned down. Then, the area became a wasteland. The temperatures were very low and when the army passed through the wasteland, all of the soldiers turned into rocks.

According to the local villagers, new figures appear every 5-6 years. There are four places at the Balkans where you can see this phenomenon, three of which are in North Macedonia. 

Aside from mystic stories and legends, the earth pyramid in Kuklica was formed as a result of natural erosion.

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Founded: Unknown
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in North Macedonia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

J. M. (11 months ago)
Very beautiful natural creation. There is no entrance fee at the moment, however it will be ok if the tourist pay some symbolic amount 1-2 eur. The Road ca. 3 km from the main road is narrow but not difficult to drive. I recommend a visit to the Stone Dolls together with a visit to Kratovo.
Roksolana Gaivoronska (14 months ago)
Nice place, the enterance is free of charge, but if you want a guided tour, it will cost 120mkd per person. It is enough 1 or 2 hours to see the place. Make sure to take some snacks with you - there is no coffee/food available in the area (off season).
Olivia Laverick (hopelesslynomantic.com) (2 years ago)
Really beautiful area with interesting rocks. There were also a couple of tortoises that we spotted! Sadly the footpaths are not that well maintained. We were there around 4pm and there was no one there to take an entry fee (which is a shame, due to the maintenance issue). But overall worth a visit for half an hour.
Goko K (2 years ago)
Wonderful natural monument. Sadly there is no road sign where to turn from the main road (it is in Ketenovo village where you need to take a narrow asphalt road of about 3+ km to reach the Kuklica - Stone Dolls). I. this area I highly recommend to visit the Lesnovo Monastery of Saint Gavril (Gabriel) and the old town of Kratovo.
Emir Kadusic (2 years ago)
Close to main road, but porly marked. Anyway worthy to visit but not during hot days.
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