Stone town of Kuklica, Rock formation in Kratovo Municipality, North Macedonia.
The Stone town of Kuklica is a natural rock formation featuring more than 120 stone pillars along the right bank of the Kriva River valley at around 420 meters elevation. The pillars were shaped over millions of years through natural erosion and weathering of the bedrock.
The stone pillars developed through erosion processes spanning roughly 100,000 years, while the original rock formations date back around 30 million years. This combination of geological time and natural forces created the landscape visible today in the Kratovo region.
The stone town carries a local legend about a wedding party that was turned to stone as divine punishment for betrayal and greed. This story remains deeply rooted in how the community understands and speaks about the place.
The site is accessible by road from nearby towns in Kratovo Municipality and sits in a river valley with open terrain easy to walk through. Sturdy footwear is recommended since the ground is uneven in places and the area has few barriers or restrictions to movement.
New stone pillars continue to form here naturally through ongoing erosion, appearing roughly every five to six years. This makes it one of only four comparable sites in the Balkan region where this geological process actively happens.
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