DESTINATIONS GREECE, CYPRUS & BALKANS |BOSNIA
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: On the hiking trail; local traditions survive; a wild horse; Mostar’s Stari Most bridge PICTURES: Michele Cohen; Samer Hajric; Shutterstock/zedspider
compared with the same period last year, with the UK market making up 82% of bookings for Bosnia. Keen to promote Bosnia’s outdoorsy credentials, Samer explained the creation of the Via Dinarica in 2016, a 1,200-mile trail tracing the Dinaric Alps and Šar mountain range from Slovenia to Albania. Today, two of the routes cut through Bosnia and clients can experience these pristine paths on Exodus’s nine-day Walking in Bosnia and Herzegovina tour.
BALKAN BEAUTY “You won’t find crowds like there are in the Alps or the Lake District,” Samer explains the next day when I quiz him about the lack of hikers in Sutjeska National Park, home to one of Europe’s last remaining virgin forests and Bosnia’s highest peak. “People who come here are able to experience the beauty of the mountains without queues of people.” There is a plethora of peaks to explore – more than 60% of Bosnia’s area is classified as hilly or mountainous terrain, and as there are only three million residents, visitors don’t have to travel far to find wilderness. The country’s vibrant capital Sarajevo, for example, sits in a basin beneath five of the Dinaric Alp mountains. Our group took a nine-minute cable car directly from the city centre up the flanks of the Trebević Mountain to be ejected nearly a kilometre up into, frankly, another world. Seen from this new vantage point, Bosnia became an undulating canvas of densely forested slopes disappearing into the distance – a stark contrast to the
48 3 SEPTEMBER 2026
33You won’t find crowds here. Visitors are able to experience the beauty of the mountains without queues of people
hubbub of the city just behind us. Red-and-white markers guided our trail across a soft forest floor criss-crossed by tree roots, with flashes of black-and-yellow salamanders between the ferns. Overhead, black squirrels scurried along branches while cuckoos and chiffchaff (warblers) sang their melodies. As we walked, conversation drifted on to Bosnia’s other wildlife – bears, wolves, bobcats, deer – which are all but impossible to encounter this close to the city, but that was easy to forget given how much Trebević felt like an enchanted forest.
WARM WELCOME A grassy expanse quickly opened up to reveal a plunging valley and the snow-capped summit of Trebević’s peak. Horses grazed alongside our lunch spot, Jure Franko lodge, built by owner Primoz. His enormous black Russian terrier, Dexter, bounded out to greet us and I patted his shaggy head while sipping a cup of mountain tea brewed with apple, cinnamon, herbs, mint and cloves. Primoz told us how eight
operator operator ASK THE
“Bosnia is one of those rare places that still genuinely surprises people. On our
Walking in Bosnia trip, clients explore dramatic mountains, quiet villages and centuries of
layered history, but without the crowds. For agents, the key is to lean into that sense of discovery. Position it as a destination
where travellers can experience incredible scenery, authentic culture and real connection. It’s
perfect for clients who are looking for something more untouched.” Brendan Phelan, sales director, Exodus Adventure Travels
²
travelweekly.co.uk
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