Diving in Lake Ohrid: A Journey Beyond Sport into the Depths of History

Summer is the perfect time of year to explore Lake Ohrid. Whether you choose to explore it by kayak, boat, small dinghy, or even decide to dive into its waters, every way is interesting and exciting for us. However, what is perhaps important to emphasize is the fact that in recent years there has been a significant increase in tourist interest in diving at the famous historical sites found in Lake Ohrid.

One of the well-known sites we will talk about today is "Ploča Mićkov Grad," located in the Bay of Bones. Today, it is an attractive museum complex featuring various exhibits. This site was discovered by Milutin Sekuloski, in whose honor the site is named.

We spoke with his son, Jovan Sekulovski, who has followed in his father’s footsteps since childhood, building a career as a professional diver and promoting the lake in the best light. Jovan took some time to present the work of the diving club “Amphora” and to introduce tourists interested in exploring the lake’s bottom.

Jovan says that diving at the archaeological site has its advantages. Besides being trained and earning a diving certificate, tourists also get acquainted with the site's prehistory, learn new things, and have the opportunity to take photos next to significant artifacts found at the bottom of the lake.

Divers have the opportunity to swim beneath the wooden houses, where scattered ceramic vessels of various shapes, stone axes, ceramic tiles used as fishing net weights, circular stone blocks for grinding grain, amulets, wooden stake structures, and many other stone tools can still be found.

From there, the dive continues toward a sandy valley where, at a depth of six meters, there is a colony of freshwater crayfish, and divers may encounter eels as well as various shells and snails. If divers venture down to 40 meters, they will have the chance to see colonies of the endemic circular sponge (Ochridaspongia rotunda). At these depths, the lake water temperature is around eight degrees Celsius.

The fact that diving in this "city," especially this type of archaeological tourism, has become extremely popular is demonstrated by the number of divers in the "Amphora" diving society. Currently, they have 40 divers.

Jovan says that the visibility in the lake is excellent. Tourists receive underwater photography and filming services, and touching archaeological finds is prohibited (with a few exceptions for promotional purposes).

According to Jovan, divers know that the sea and oceans offer a different kind of diving, but if you dive in Lake Ohrid even once, you will have a rare opportunity to connect with prehistory.

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