Cycling Rural: West Herzegovina Lakes

Your tour starts in the adventure park Pec Mlini, the place where the longest zipline in Bosnia and Herzegovina is located.

The excursion starts at the location Peć Mlini where one of the most beautiful adventure attractions. We continue towards Drinovci with a visit to the artificial lake Nuga Krenica, on the river Trebižat, near the settlement Drinovci, in the area of the municipality of Grude. We start the journey with a slight ascent to the Bartuluša cemetery, and descend towards Drinovci, passing by the church of St. Michael the Archangel, and further towards Lake Krenica, which is located in Drinovacko polje and is a unique natural beauty in Grude. This is our second lake that we will visit on this trip, and after visiting Lake Krenica we continue on the asphalt road to Sovići and Gorica, where we come to the old church of St. Stjepan and the Brotherhood of St. Stephen the First Martyr. Here you can take a break and replenish water supplies, because after this place there is a macadam climb towards Posušje. In certain parts of the climb, we briefly enter the Republic of Croatia and return to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After entering Posušje, we continue our journey along the asphalt section and ascent towards Rakitno and further towards our final destination, the Blidinje Nature Park and Lake Blidinje. This section is asphalt with a lot of climbs, but the whole route is really beautiful and will simply enchant you, so you will not think about the difficulty of the trip.
Entering the Blidinje Nature Park will literally take your breath away with its beauty, and it is located in the high mountains of the central Dinarides, and includes the area of the mountain massifs of Čvrsnica and Vrana. Blidinje Nature Park is one of the most beautiful natural units in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and covers an area of 358 km 2 at the foot of the mountains Čvrsnica and Vrana. Due to its unique geomorphological features, richness of flora and fauna, and beautiful untouched nature, it is a perfect place to escape from the stress of everyday life. Arriving at the Blidinje Nature Park, we end our excursion.

Your visit will be a very local experience. There are plenty of popular restaurants and region of Herzegovina has been a place where different cultural inluences mixed in the past. Traditional food is often prepared with meat, and meals are plentiful and delicious. The meat is of extraordinary quality, often organic, and well prepared.

Herzegovina is also well-known for its local cuisine, among other things. Numerous gastronomic specialties, which are a result of the long tradition of this area, preserved recipes and special preparation of every dish, are still available at our restaurants and taverns, and they will certainly not leave you indifferent, and will complement your stay in Herzegovina in a special way. Whether you decide to take the traditional polenta with yoghurt, butteroil and garlic, fritters, a selection of local cheeses or cured meats, boiled lamb from the meadows of Herzegovina, vegetables that matured on the fertile soil of our park, or anything else from our comprehensive gastronomic offer – we guarantee that you will not make a mistake.

Gorica – Sovići is mentioned as the seat of one of the parishes that until 1718 were entrusted to the care of the Franciscans from the Imotski monastery. After the Imotski region was separated from Bekija by the Požarevac peace that year, communication with the Bekija parishes became almost impossible for the Franciscans. Therefore, the monastery in Kreševo ​​takes over the pastoral care for the whole of Herzegovina. The seat of the parish was moved around 1735 from Gorica to Posušje, more precisely to the difficult forests between the villages of Batina and Gorica. Since then, Gorica has become only a part of the large parish of Posušje. This situation lasted for about a hundred years, until 1831, when Gorica became an independent chaplaincy. God. In 1838 it was proclaimed a parish. The registers have been kept since 1836. The first parish house was built by Fr. Stjepan Karlović. It was weak and inconspicuous, and after a few decades useless. The new parish house was built in 1904-1908. This house was damaged in the war of 1943, and then in the earthquake of 1962. The new one was built starting in 1975. On the site of the ancient church of Sv. Stjepana, which was demolished in the Turkish era, a new parish church was built in 1856, mostly with the efforts of the parish priest Fr. Petar Bakula. That church is still on the hill, but it is no longer used as a parish, but as a cemetery. A new modern church was built in Gorica starting in 1968. At the same time, a beautiful modern branch church was built in Sovići, dedicated to St. Peter and Paul and later the bell tower in Bobanova Draga dedicated to St. Elijah the prophet. All of these buildings have been renovated or are still being renovated in detail from the 1990s onwards. In 1975, 4,024 parishioners lived in the parish, in 1991 3,156, in 2002 about 3,500 parishioners and in 2005 about 3,100 parishioners in 843 households.

Nature Park Blidinje is one of the most beautiful natural areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is located only an hour and a half from the Adriatic coast. It has a surface area of 358 km 2 , spread out at the foothills of Vran and Čvrsnica mountains.

Its unique geomorphological features, a great diversity of local flora and fauna, and beautiful untouched nature, make it a perfect getaway spot for all those looking to escape the stress of everyday life. Whether you’re looking for a place to relax in fresh mountain air, a chance to learn about the intricacies of local history and cultural legacy, or you’re looking for an adventure – Nature Park Blidinje is the ideal place for you.

Blidinje Nature Park is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the high mountains of the Central Dinarides, and it includes mountain massifs Čvrsnica and Vran, on an area of 358 km2. In administrative terms, it is part of three Herzegovinian cantons and five different municipalities. Due to its geomorphologic characteristics, the richness of its flora and fauna, as well as its beautiful and pristine nature, this area was awarded the status of a nature park on March 24, 1995. Around 1500 different plant species have been identified so far in this unique area, with more than 200 of them being endemic, relict and sub-endemic species. Blidinje Nature Park is also known as the largest habitat of the endemic white-bark Bosnian pine.

The association ”Visit Blidinje” is a result of mutual cooperation and common idea to bring together all actors from the field of tourism and local producers around a single platform that primarily focuses on the promotion and marketing of our beautiful Blidinje Nature Park and also offers all contents and activities that you can engage in and experience in this unique area.

By cooperating with the public company Blidinje Nature Park and all economic operators, potential partners, mountaineering clubs and other individuals and associations, whose interests and intentions are well-meaning primarily for Blidinje Nature Park, and which are active in this area, we aim to improve its credibility, offers and status to an enviable level.

Nature Park Blidinje is an ideal location for a multi-day vacation and a great place to relax. Due to its great geographic position, it can serve as a great base for one-day trips to other places in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Within our Park, you can find a variety of accommodation providers, which are sure to satisfy various needs and preferences. Our team can help you find accommodation in hotels, motels, mountain houses and cottages, or in private accommodation.

For more info regarding your perfect accomodation please do not hesitate to contact us. We’ll provide you with best service.