It is the southernmost and highest peak, 2,521 metres (8,271 ft),[2] of a range known in Greek as the Voras Mountains and in Macedonian as Nidže.

[1] It is the third-highest peak in Greece after Mytikas and Smolikas and the fifth-highest in North Macedonia.

[citation needed] The word "Kajmakčalan" is of Ottoman Turkish origin and inspired by its white, snowy peak: kaymakçalan means 'kaymak-like'.

Kajmakčalan has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with short, cool summers and long, cold winters.

Near the top of the mountain, on the Greek side, there is a small church named Saint Peters (Sveti Petar in Serbian), the peak itself is called, besides Kajmakčalan, Profitis Ilias (Greek: Εκκλησία Προφήτης Ηλίας).