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Popova
Šapka (sometimes mentioned as Popova Sapka or Popova Shapka) is one of the most famous
winter-recreational and ski resorts in Macedonia and the former Yugoslavia. It
is located in
Šar Planina (mountain). The resort is situated on 18 km from
Tetovo and from the capital,
Skopje is just 48 km away.
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Click here to view the map of the ski resort
"The ski-resort Popova Šapka: in front is the
Teteks ski lift, and the hotels are in the back"
Šar Planina itself, is characterized by the numerous natural beauties, large
areas covered with grass, flower meadows and 43 peaks at the height over 2,500
meters,
above the sea level. The most famous is Titov Vrv - with a height of 2,747 meters,
is in the vicinity of Popova
Šapka.
The beauty of the mountain is enhanced by the several springs and mountain
lakes: Livadičko Lake, Crno Lake, Belo Lake, and others. Šar Planina is also
rich with woods, that end at 1,600 meters above the sea level. In some of the higher parts of the mountain, the snow remains
even during the warmest summer months. The length of this impressive mountain
massif extends 80 km, and in latitude - 12 km. The snow cover is from November
to April. Popova Šapka is located at the height of 1,708 meters.
"LEFT: The Teteks ski lifts and a double chair lift;
RIGHT: The Jelak ski lift, the first lift on Popova Šapka"
Popova Šapka is connected to the nearest
city,
Tetovo,
by a cable railway and a asphalt road. In the immediate vicinity of the Dervish Monastery
Arabati Baba Tekje, in Tetovo, is the start
of a cable car lift going up to Popova Šapka. The lift is 7 km long and it takes
less than 40 minutes to reach Popova Šapka. A good asphalt road, that is passing
by the mountainous villages of Gajre, Šipkovica and Lisec, leads to the complex of hotels
and ski slopes, which can be used during the whole year, even in the winter
months, (except in very bad snow storms), because the road is always being
cleaned from the snow cover. The ski slopes in Popova Šapka are
first class. They are connected by chair and drag-lifts. There are 6 ski-lifts: Teteks 1, Teteks 2, Aerodrom, Ge (Pionir), Jelak and one parallel to the
Aerodrom ski-lift. Also there are 3 chairlifts: Ceripašina
and one parallel with Teteks and Aerodrom ski-lifts. The third one is by the
Ceripašina double chairlift, but it is out of order. The Teteks ski-lifts are
single drag, while all the rest are double drag. The lowest ski-slope is at
Teteks ski-lift 1,708 meters, while the highest is Ceripašina chairlift at 2,510
meters. Just above Ceripašina chairlift is situated the Popova Šapka
meteorological station, near the border with Serbia & Montenegro, on an
altitude of 2,525 meters above the sea level. Several years
ago a monastery complex was built by the church dedicated to St. Naum. There is
a hut at the Ge (Pionir) ski-lift where the visitors can buy some tea or other
products.
 
 Popova Šapka
is a large complex. There are many
hotels: Inex, Slavija, Teteks, Jelak, Elektrodistribucija - Tetovo,
Konak (private) and also around 250-300 weekend cottages opposite the
ski-slopes. Every year, on February 15th-16th, the skiing
event the "Šarplaninski Cup" is held here. This event was held for the
first time in 1947. The best skiers from Macedonia together with foreign
participants compete for this cup. Since 1977, the Šarplaninski Cup has been
included in the European Ski Association for the competition "European
Cup". This ski resort possesses ski slopes, with the total length of 10 km.
The total capacity is 8,000 skiers per one hour. On average, the snow at Popova Šapka
lasts for 135 days. Available for the visitors are: ski-schools, ski-services
and the the hire of ski-equipment. Near Popova Šapka are found the striking localities Jelak, Lešnica
and Ceripašina which enhance its attraction as a tourist centre.
 
"Popova Šapka - The End of the cable car lift and the hotel Slavija" At Ceripašina
and Lešnica, the hunting of wild goats has been developed as a sport. Popova Šapka
is characterized by a high number of sunny days, clean mountain air and high
annual snowfall, which sometimes reaches the depth of 2 meters. During the summer months, Popova
Šapka offers conditions for
mountaineering, hunting of rare quarry and fishing of the famous Šar trout. In
the restaurants, the visitors may enjoy the tasty Šar specialties, in
comfortable and pleasant surroundings.
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