Galičica Mountains
The locality
The Galičica mountain range is located in the southwestern corner of North Macedonia, bordered in the west by Lake Ohrid and in the southeast by Lake Prespa. Galičica Planina, a National Park since 1958, borders the Prespa National Park in the southeast and the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve between Albania and North Macedonia, a recently established part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Since 1979, Lake Ohrid is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The habitat
The Galičica mountains cover an altitudinal range of 1560m from the shores of Lake Ohrid at 695 m up to its highest peak, the 2255 m high Magaro.
The local diversity
The region is characterised by an outstanding diversity. With an estimated age of 3–5 million years, Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes on the planet.
The National Park harbours over 1,700 species of higher plants, with many endemites and relict populations among them. Krpač et al. (2011) report 166 species of butterflies from their survey of the Galičica National Park.
Krpač, V., C. Darcemont, M. Krpač & M. Lemonnier-Darcemont (2011) Fauna of butterflies (Papilionoidea) in the National Park Galičica, Republic of Macedonia. Nota lepidopterologica 34(1): 49–78. PDF
Contact person
Dr. Vladimir T. Krpač
Macedonian Museum of Natural History
Boulevard Ilinden 86, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
vkrpach(at)gmail.com