The monastery is situated on the slopes of the Osogovo Mountain, 10 km far from the border with Bulgaria, in the vicinity of the town of Kriva Palanka. The large monastery complex, dedicated to the hermit St. Joachim, is also known by the name Sarandopor which is the toponym for the region. It was founded in the late 11th or in the early 12th century. The cathedral church is a large three-nave in base, with 12 cupolas and a porch on the western and on the southern side. It was built in 1848-51, by the famous Macedonian constructor of the 19th century, Andrea Damjanov. The interior of the church and the cupolas of the porch were painted by the local painter - Dimitar Andonov Papradishki (“the last zograph” and the founder of the Macedonian contemporary art), between the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The wall paintings in the north-west section of the church were painted by other group of painters coming from the Western Macedonia.
The old monastery  church of the monastery complex is dedicated to the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 14th as well as in the 19th centuries.
Annually the monastery is hosting a summer school of architecture and art.

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