2019 Bosnia and Herzegovina Trekking

The Via Dinarica is a 1,930 km trail which connects the countries of the Western Balkans. The White Trail traverses Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, and links the peaks along the Dinaric Alps and Shar mountain ranges, some of Europe’s least explored mountain ranges. The aim of the expedition was to hike the Bosnia and Herzegovina section of the Via Dinarica White Trail and gain long-distance hiking and wild camping skills. The team also wanted to highlight the development of the trail and to document the country’s experience and culture. 

The five Imperial College students embarked on their hike during the first three weeks of July 2019. A difficulty experienced was that the daytime temperatures would often exceed 30^oC, making the hike extremely strenuous and leading to water supply issues. In addition, the nights were much colder than expected whilst they were camping. There was also the risk of encountering bears to consider.

The team initially arrived in Split in Croatia and engaged in some sightseeing in the city. Following a bus journey to Bukova Gora Lake in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the start of the hike, the group made their way to Mrkodol, where they enjoyed amazing views over the lake and valley. The next stages were to Umolje and then to Blidinje Lake, ascending 450m, from which point they could see surrounding mountain ranges. Spending two days in the area allowed the group to ascend a peak, swim in the lake, and engage in stargazing without light pollution. The following day involved a hike into mountains, through a forest path, to the peak of Vilinac Mountain (2,116m), and onto the mountain hut. The journey to Jablanica enabled them to see the river linking all big towns in direction of Sarajevo, whilst arriving in Pansion Asim, Glodnica allowed one of the team to have their blisters treated by a doctor, after having become quite badly infected.

After a day’s rest the group continued to Ravna, a tiny village surrounded by mountains, before continuing to the Prenj Mountain Valley, which involved a 21km hike with a 1.6km ascent where the views from the top were astounding. In the morning the group commenced a walk for 14 hours across harsh terrain to Jezero, a beautiful town with strong Ottoman influences in Konjic architecture and culture, and where the team tried Rakija, the local spirit brewed in the region. On the journey to Lukomir, a traditional village, the route climbed 1,000m before descending. The team decided to complete a day-hike on part of the trail to Dubocani, and after 4 hours had reached the edge of a mountain range where they sat on a cliff overlooking the valley, before returning to Lukomir to indulge in the local Bosnian pie (burek). After sundown they went onto a hill nearby and watched over the Rakitnica valley for about 1.5 hours, peacefully contemplating the journey so far.

As well as encountering stunning mountain ranges and valleys that looked as if untouched from human interference, the team also found that the people showed them nothing but compassion and generosity, despite rarely speaking a common tongue. They communicated using google translate, and were regularly offered food, water and a place to camp by farmers. They heard stories from the war that involved pain, loss, and suffering, and although these emotions still last today, there was an ever-present desire to move forwards and progress towards a better future.

In addition to funding provided by the Exploration Board this expedition was supported by the Old Centralians' Trust.