The monastery was built in 13th century and shares the fate of hundreds of others in Macedonia. Several times it was ruined and burned, but renewed again by the believers. The present appearance was given about 25 years ago, with the hard work of the villagers of Kozhle.
Through the centuries, the church "Virgin Mary" served as a school for monks and children from the surrounding villages. The monastery and the cave church are linked with an interesting story, which is told for centuries among the people.
Long time ago, two brothers had lived in harmony. However, when one of them married, his brother made a great sin – he slept with his brother’s wife. Unable to face the moral burden, the sinner had left the family home and came to the cave. To punish himself, he decided to not come out of it for life. He spent in the cold rock 40 years as a hermit, eating only roots and plants - tell the local people. A sad story about a sin and a punishment… .
How to get there: There are two ways to get this cache. The easiest one is when you drive on the highway E75 toward Veles. You can park at R1. West downhill there are stairs and a path which leads to the suspension bridge over the River Pchinya.
The other way to reach this church and cache is from the village Kozhle, which lies some 2 km uphill north-west from this cache. Drive on the highway E75 toward Veles. Before the village Katlanovo leave the highway and drive toward Blace and Kozhle, some 8 km. The surrounding of this village is very nice and you can spend a day hiking around. You can hike toward the Pchinya River, which flows east of the village. There is a path from the village which leads you south-southeast toward a monastery and church "Birth of the Virgin". Take the narrow part (find the waypoint R2) and follow it south-east. On this path you will notice unique plants and trees, typical for submediteranian region. The "fir-shape" trees are a species of Juniper, called "diva foya" (Juniperus excelsa). The same tree species you can see at the "Golem Grad" island at the Prespa Lake. Somewhere near the waypoint R3 there is a crossing of two paths. You can turn east, downhill and after some 10 minutes you will reach the monastery and church "Birth of the Virgin". You will see the Pchinya River and the highway E75 across the River. From the waypoint R3 you can continue south, about 1.5 km to the confluence of Pchinya and Vardar River. Bring plenty of water with you, if you hike here during summer - the path is mostly opened, there are only scattered shadows of trees and it can be REALLY VERY hot.
The cache is a small glass cream jar with green lid.
Sources: Internet sources. Photos: Internet, original (Galejnik)