Intrepid is working with USAID Growing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina Venture (USAID Turizam) and the World Journey and Tourism Resilience Council to drive sustainable tourism within the area. We despatched photographer and journey author Annapurna Mellor to test-drive our Bosnia and Herzegovina eight-day expedition.
Mersiha twists and turns the burek dough as all of us watch in marvel. She weaves the feta and spinach via the pie with ease – it’s a talent she mastered as a baby in the course of the Bosnian struggle – spending her days inside, away from the shelling, cooking together with her mum. Outdoors the window, the balcony opens to sweeping views of Sarajevo, twinkling within the darkness.
Uncover Bosnia and Herzegovina
It’s our first evening in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the primary departure of Intrepid’s eight-day Bosnia and Herzegovina journey expedition to this intriguing nook of Europe. We’re opening the journey with an expertise that encapsulates why I like to journey with Intrepid: being welcomed into an area’s dwelling, sharing burek and dolma (stuffed greens) washed down with slivovitz, an area plum brandy and exchanging tales with my hosts and fellow travellers from the world over.
Bosnia and Herzegovina past the headlines
Regardless of being only some hours away from the UK and near in style journey locations like Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina receives comparatively few guests. I knew little about it earlier than my journey, and I’m not alone. Most of the conversations I had pre-departure with household and associates have been interrupted with questions like ‘Is it protected?’ and ‘Wasn’t there a struggle there?’
From day one, our native chief, Muhamed, stresses that whereas sure, there was a struggle right here from 1992 to 1995 (and certainly he has the bodily scars and heartbreaking tales to show it), Bosnia and Herzegovina deserves to be recognized for a lot extra.
Muhamed is a proud Sarajevo native. So proud in actual fact, {that a} tattoo of the town’s skyline adorns his shin. He’s been main Intrepid excursions throughout the Balkan area for years, however that is the primary time Bosnia has been given the highlight, with its personal devoted journey, taking travellers past the primary sights – and he’s thrilled to be displaying us his homeland, beginning together with his dwelling metropolis.
Sarajevo showcases the unimaginable cultural variety of this nation. The Baščaršija – or outdated bazaar of Sarajevo – dates again to the fifteenth century, with the minarets of mosques sitting alongside Ottoman rooftops and the grand facade of the Austro-Hungarian metropolis corridor. On avenue corners, locals eat conventional baklava subsequent to hip espresso spots and church buildings, mosques and bars share the identical squares.
A cable automotive takes us excessive above the town to the mountains that body the capital. From up right here, we see the vastness of the valley and Muhamed leads us via the forest till we discover the deserted bobsleigh monitor from the 1984 winter Olympics. Bombed in the course of the siege, it has since turn into an open-air gallery for native graffiti artists.
Learn extra: Uncover extra of Europe on a small group journey
Into the wild
The surprises preserve coming as we drive out of the town, via autumn-red forests, into Bosnia’s pure magnificence. We spend a windswept afternoon within the foothills of Cincar Mountain, the place over 400 wild horses roam the panorama and clink blueberry beers over native cheeses in a mountain hut. In Jajce, a small city surrounded by lakes, rivers and mountains, we get our first style of the pristine great thing about Bosnia’s waterways as we eat lunch by a sequence of turquoise waterfalls.
It’s nightfall once we arrive in Mostar, a metropolis of winding cobbled streets, most famed for its placing Ottoman bridge. The panorama right here is drier to match the Mediterranean local weather; contemporary pomegranates hold from the timber and a way of calm permeates. It’s so inviting we might simply linger for days.
However to return to Herzegovina and solely see Mostar could be an ideal disgrace. The entire area is gorgeous and, like a lot of Bosnia and Herzegovina, feels criminally underrated. Exploring with native guides and travelling in a small minibus means we are able to get off the crushed monitor and perceive the intricacies of this area in a deeper means than I might have achieved as an unbiased traveller.
A spotlight is our go to to Blagaj Tekija, a Sufi dervish monastery that sits beneath a cliff by the aspect of the emerald-green Buna River. Within the early morning, we benefit from the peaceable silence of this place, earlier than listening to the recollections of our information Ruba, who grew up on this village and spent her childhood visiting the monastery together with her father, a practising Sufi.
Ending on a excessive
Our remaining cease earlier than returning to Sarajevo is Konjic. And as quickly as we attain the Prenj mountains I can inform that is going to be particular. Konjic is the journey capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Right here you may hike, climb, raft, or just calm down by its glittering lakes. Our group heads excessive into the mountains for an exhilarating rafting journey down the Neretva River. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s nature has persistently blown me away, however the landscapes listed here are my favorite. Excessive, rocky mountains stand up from layers of inexperienced and golden forest and the Neretva is a clear, crystal blue.
On our remaining evening in Sarajevo, Muhamed recommends strolling as much as the Yellow Fortress. From right here, it’s unattainable to not discover the cemetery of white graves, virtually all courting from the struggle. All through the journey, struggle historical past has been tangible. 40-year outdated Muhamed lived his youth below siege and each native we met had a distinct expertise to share.
However this journey has proven me how a lot Bosnia and Herzegovina has to supply past the historical past of battle. It is a nation of unimaginable, untouched nature, various religions and cultures, scrumptious meals and heat people who find themselves proud to welcome you to their dwelling. I really feel fortunate to have been capable of expertise this particular nation at a time when tourism is simply creating.
Because the sundown casts a purple glow throughout Sarajevo’s medley of minarets and mountains, the night name to prayer begins. It echoes from all corners of the valley. After every week of unforgettable experiences, this second may simply be the one which stays with me the longest.
Annapurna travelled as a visitor of Intrepid on a press preview of our Bosnia and Herzegovina journey. Observe her on Instagram @annapurnauna. Uncover Bosnia and Herzegovina on an Intrepid small-group journey.
Initially printed in December 2022.
The Balkans are ready
