Back to the Balkans: Bosnia & Croatia

The second half of September found me returning to the Balkans after three weeks in the Dolomites of Italy. This time, while the priority was not so much hiking per se, Maggie and I did get to experience some very diverse landscapes in the mountains of Bosnia and along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. We interspersed the hikes with cultural touring in Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia and in Dubrovnik, Croatia, enjoying seafood and local wines throughout our journeys.

In Bosnia, we stayed for three nights at an authentic old farmhouse, which was our base for hiking in Sutjeska National Park. This park, established in 1962, is Bosnia’s oldest. It includes the country’s highest peak, Maglić (2,386 meters) on the border with Montenegro. The Strict Nature Reserve “Perućica”, one of the last two remaining primeval forests in Europe*, is also part of the park. The photos below are from the two very different hikes we took, a short wander in the Perućica reserve and a grueling round trip climb to the summit of Maglić.

*- The much larger Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus is the other.

A stream, Perućica Nature Reserve, Sutjeska National Park. Entry to the reserve is with a guide only. The host at our farmhouse accommodation just happened to be the park ranger in the reserve and invited us to hike there as his guests.

A colorful mushroom, perhaps dyer’s polypore, one of many we saw in Perućica.

A VERY large example of *Sparassis crispa,* or cauliflower mushroom, in Perućica Reserve.

Trail heading to Lake Trnovacko from Prijevor, Sutjeska NP. The route we took to the summit of Mount Maglić was about 14 miles and had more than 3,500 ft of elevation gain.

Montenegrin border post at Lake Trnovačko. Fortunately, my driver’s license was sufficient for the guard/park ranger. Most of the hike was actually in Montenegro.

Mount Maglić (l) from Lake Trnovačko (Trnovačko Jezero).

After a stiff climb from the lake, a flattish plateau area brought us to Maglić’s summit block, which required a short scramble.

With Maggie on Mount Maglić’s summit (2386 meters)

The heart-shaped Lake Trnovačko from Maglić’s summit. Our climbing route was from the left side of the lake here.

Another view of Lake Trnovačko with clouds, on our descent

After Bosnia, we returned to the Dubrovnik area of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. While the lovely walled city is teeming with tourists, we found two hikes to the north that were not so overrun: the walled town of Ston and the island of Lopud. Both made for interesting day trips from our apartment a few kilometers north of Dubrovnik.

Village of Ston with salt pans, seen from one of the walls. The walls of Ston are longer than Dubrovnik, and claimed to be the longest walled fortification in Europe.

The walls extend to the nearby town of Mali Ston (Mali means “little”)

Our hike was a loop that involved some bush-whacking on the return to Ston. Here is a portion of the Ston walls that we saw on our return. Only part of the fortifications are currently open to the public.

A short ferry from Dubrovnik to The island of Lopud is only a short ferry ride from Dubrovnik. Vehicle-free (except golf carts), there are many hiking trails that enabled us to more or less circumambulate the island. Here are some Bougainvillea above the town of Lopud.

Vista from Sutvrač Fort towards Sipan. Although not quite two square miles in area, Lopud is the second largest island of the Elaphiti islands (after Sipan). It is located less than 10 kilometers NW of Dubrovnik.

Vista point on the Northwest corner of Lopud. The peacefulness of the island was a dramatic change from the crowds of tourists a few miles away in Dubrovnik.

Tomorrow I leave for New Delhi to begin a three week trekking trip to the Garwhal Himalaya. Our group will be trekking in the region of Kumaon, Uttarakhand, just West of Nepal and bordering Tibet to the North. On my return to the UK later this month I will post my next blog from my first trip to India.

Until then, enjoy the outdoors,

The Vagabond Hiker

Back to the Balkans: Bosnia & Croatia

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