There’s quite a lot of dispute around Macedonia. Firstly, its very name is disputed by Greece. Second, it is neighbours with Kosovo, also a disputed territory. And third, it has multi-ethnic issues. What isn’t disputed, however, is that travellers going to Macedonia have a cultural and natural odyssey ahead of them. A small country, the same size as Sicily, its landlocked position means that it has been influenced by Ottomans, Romans, Greeks and many more over the years. Its Communist era means that the mountain ranges were untouched by tourism, ancient villages unspoiled by second home ownership, and lake lands undisturbed by jet skis and jet setters. And it is so small, you can hike in the mountains in the morning, saunter around Byzantine beauty in the afternoon, and swim at one of its fine lake beaches at sunset.

Even the Bible describes Macedonia as an ancient land. And indeed today, it still feels untouched by time in many places, with medieval villages such as Mavrovo perched on a lake front that is protected by forested mountains. Ottoman mosques and hammams appearing like long lost jewels in the already culturally crammed capital of Skopje. And then Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site simply stuffed to the gills with ancient sacred sites (at one count there were 365 churches here). All perched in landscapes slowly carved by time into canyons and valleys, plateaus and peaks, many of which are protected by three national parks: Pelister, Mavrovo and Galicica.