Overlooking the city of Tetovo, the Šar Mountains offer, via the climb to Popova Šapka, one of the longest paved ascents in North Macedonia, through beech forest and up into high alpine meadows.
The climb
From Tetovo, at around 460 m elevation, the road climbs for 18.3 km to the Popova Šapka resort at around 1,780 m, gaining 1,243 m at an average of 6.8%. The route, with steady switchbacks, first rises through dense forest before opening onto the alpine meadows surrounding the resort.
How to approach the ride
The steady gradient allows for a sustained pace with no extreme sections, but the sheer length of the climb calls for careful pacing and fuel planning, since few shops line the route beyond Tetovo.
When to go
May to October, as snow can linger into spring on the final kilometers. Summer offers the best conditions, with welcome cool air at altitude compared with the heat of the Vardar valley below.
Good to know
Tetovo, known for its 15th-century Painted Mosque (Šarena Džamija), has all the services you’d need before setting off. In Popova Šapka, the resort’s hotels and cafés, largely empty outside ski season, offer a chance to rest before heading back down.
