Swimming in Lake Ohrid—Even in the Heart of Winter!

I live for new adventures, because Macedonia has many places I haven’t been to or discovered yet,” said Adnan Odžoski from Ohrid as he began his conversation with Kajak.mk.

Adnan is the man who swims in the waters of Lake Ohrid every winter, but avoids doing so in the summer. He is an adventurer and traveler who likes to perceive tourism and travel from a different perspective than most.

He says he has been active in sports for as long as he can remember and likes to combine sports with travel. He started winter swimming in Lake Ohrid a few years ago. The first time he entered cold water was at the waterfalls in Thethi, Albania. He was impressed by the beauty of the place, the clear water, and the surrounding forest, and even though it was very cold, he couldn’t resist jumping into the water.

Since then, he regularly swims in Lake Ohrid during the winter, while in the summer he swims less often due to the larger number of tourists. He uses the summer to swim in waterfalls and mountain lakes across the country and beyond. As he says, it’s important to know that the water in the waterfalls during summer is colder than the water in the lake during winter.

 

Adnan is also passionate about cycling and often travels by bike. Every new photo he sees on social media gives him a reason to hop on and visit that destination.

Adnan highlights Kaјmakchalan, Pelister, and Jablanica as the best destinations for cycling. For hiking, he loves the waterfalls of Jakupica, Babuna, Tresonce, Shar Planina, and Leshnica.

Like many other travelers, Adnan hopes that 2021 will open the borders and bring an end to the pandemic. He looks forward to visiting some of the destinations on his travel list, such as the waterfalls in Vlora, the ski center Kaјmakchalan, Mount Musala, Vihren Peak, and the thermal springs in Dobrinishte, Bulgaria.

 

For him, at the end of the day, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey—to seek new adventures even during the pandemic—because that’s what makes life more exciting.