Monday, November 10, 2014

5 Best Places to Visit in Herzegovina

Recently, one of my favorite travel bloggers, Brooke Saward from "World of Wanderlust" posted her 15 Best Travel Destinations for 2015, and guess what, Bosnia and Herzegovina is Nr. 1. I was very surprised when I read that, and not because I don't think that there isn't much to see or to do here (in fact there is a lot), but more, that she choose this country (and the 14 others) from a huge list of places she has traveled to.


In this post I want to focus on the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I live, and give you the 5 Best Places to Visit in Herzegovina.

This is also my 700th Post on this Blog, and I couldn't think of a better subject, then this one, to mark the occasion. Enjoy!

click on the images for a bigger view


1. Blagaj and The Fortress of King Herceg Stjepan

I am posting these two places as one, since they are only one mile apart from each other. In fact as you arrive to Blagaj, you will spot the old Fortress on the hill tops. 

Blagaj is a small town, only a couple of miles south from Mostar. Blagaj is situated at the spring of the Buna river and a historical tekke (tekija or Dervish monastery). You can see more images and stories from this place in my in-depth series, here.

Blagaj

The Fortress of King Herceg Stjepan is a medieval building – also known as Stjepan city, and is situated on the late antique fort above Blagaj, and was actually a city palace enclosed by hard walls with jagged peaks, that are still visible today. An in-depth exploration of this beautiful fortress, can be found here.

 The Fortress of King Herceg Stjepan


2. Jablanica Lake

There are many spots along the M-17 route where you can stop and enjoy the beauty of this lake, but they are all pretty much located on the stretch of road from Jablanica to Konjic. Along the way, make sure to stop in one of the many restaurants before and after Jablanica, that are located right along the main road, and offer great scenic views. More images from this lake can be found in this post here.



3. The Old Town of Mostar

A visit to south Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be complete without a stop in the biggest city of this region. One of the best places to visit in Herzegovina is for sure the Old Town of Mostar, with its beautiful Old Bridge dating back to 1557.

You can find two bigger posts on my blog about this part of Mostar. One here, and the other one right here. This part of the city is beautiful during the day, as well as night, when the city lights shine brightly.





4. Kravice Waterfalls

The Kravice Waterfalls are located on the road from Capljina to Ljubuski, and are very easy to find. The best way to visit is to rent a car and drive out yourself (Which is the best option, since buses are infrequent. A great and very afordable car rental service in this region is Carrus Rent-a-Car).

There is a big parking lot here, where you can leave your car, and then you head down into the valley where the Waterfalls are. It's a great place to visit in Herzegovina, and one that will stay in your memory for a long time. Nature at its finest. More images from the Kravice Waterfalls, can be seen in this blog post.



5. Pocitelj

This is a great place to stop by, when you are driving to the Kravice Waterfalls from before. It takes only a 20 minute drive from Mostar, south on the M-17 road to Capljina, to arrive in Pocitelj. This is an old town and it is believed that the fortified town along with its attendant settlements was built by Bosnia's King Stjepan Tvrtko I in 1383. You can find more images from this place, as well as an in-depth exploration of the main tower in my travel series to Pocitelj.



I hope you enjoyed this journey through the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
If you plan a visit in 2015, then these are for sure the 5 best places to visit in Herzegovina. And after your stay here, drive down to the Adriatic Sea (only 1 hour drive from Mostar) and take a plunge in the clear and refreshing waters of the sea.


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42 comments:

  1. Its a world undiscovered for many of us. Thanks for showing it to us. I hope I can visit of day.

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    1. It's not unreachable, so I do hope you get to visit one day! Take care.

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  2. These are beautiful spots!

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  3. *Gasp* It does look like a wonderful place to visit! Congrats on your 700th!

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  4. my goodness these are some gorgeous places! happy 700th!!

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  5. Wow, each and every place looks fascinating… your country is really beautiful. Among all the fabulous photos, my favorite is the Fortress under unnerving skies, which looks symbolizing fleeting prosperity and decline of humans. Congratulations on the 700th post.

    Yoko

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  6. I'm happy to to enjoy through your lens Mersad, that way I don't have to fly :) Wonderful images and descriptions and huge conratulations on the 700 posts.

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  7. You live in a wonderful place. I never realised how many cave systems you must have. I'mm too old to explore them now but wished I'd done so years ago.

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    1. You can still visit the rest. :) Yes, there are a lot of caves in these regions.

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  8. you've shown so much beauty from your home area that i'm not surprised someone else chose it as #1 destination. :)

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  9. Your photography skills are outstanding and you have painted the most beautiful images of places that you clearly love. I do hope I make it over there some day ... everything about it is inviting.

    Andrea @ FromThe Sol

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  10. Hello Mersad,

    Congratulations on your 700th post! My traveling days are over, but I do appreciate traveling with you on your blog! Thanks for sharing.

    Have a Happy Blue Monday!

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    1. Thanks so much Sally for visiting every week. Much appreciated.

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  11. For sure you live in a magical place, Mersad! Congrats on your 700th post.

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  12. Add my congratulations for your 700th post, Mersad!! I, too, do so enjoy traveling with you on your blog and I'm so glad you share with us!! And so much beauty on your post for the day!! Really breathtaking! Hope your new week is off to a great start!! Enjoy!!

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  13. Postcard perfection in each shot....thanks for sharing♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/lit-path/

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  14. So many wonderful places to see! I'd love to come visit your country.

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  15. I have LOVED your posts in the past on these wonderful venues in your country! To have Bosnia-Herzegovina listed as the No. 1 destination by the travel blogger is AWESOME! But I can see that it is well deserved! Congrats on your 700th post, and on B-H making number 1!

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  16. Breathtaking, Mersad! So much beauty there to be enjoyed!!

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  17. Savrsena lista; na tvojim fotkama sve izgleda glamurozno!

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  18. Your post makes me want to visit:)

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  19. Gorgeous pictures, Mersad! I was SO happy when I read Brooke's post - BiH is definitely deserving of the number 1 spot. I can't wait to visit the spots you outlined in the post, particularly number one. I'm planning on it next summer!

    www.thetravelixir.com

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  20. najiskrenije čestitke..od srca...bravo...slike? predivne, baš predivne....da, i ovo su prekrasna mjesta u hercegovini..a ona je tako lijepa, tako fotogenična ...i kud god ti oko krene uvijek nešto lijepo možeš "škljocnuti"...nadam se da ćeš jednom naći vremena i za moj konjic, boračko jezero, neretvu u gornjem toku,....željno iščekujem i tvoje sljedeće fotke....veliki pozdrav!

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  21. I doubt I'll ever get there, so thanks for the wonderful photos.

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  22. Wonderful work, Mersad!

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  23. Thanks for sharing all these places with us. Your photos of this beautiful places are spectacular!

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  24. You sure do have excellent places to visit! The color in your photos today is very rich.

    Congratulations on your 700th post.

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  25. Beautiful photos! Lots of great places to visit. What a fun time I had here. Enjoy your week.

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  26. Also wenn ich diese Plätze sehe dann kann ich es gut nachvollziehen. Wirklich eine wundervolle Landschaft mit solch schönen Naturschauspielen. Da würde ich mich auch sehr wohlfühlen und ich begleite dich immer sehr gerne.

    Liebe Grüsse

    N☼va

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  27. These are amazing and places I haven't even heard of!

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  28. I have said it before and will say it again... you have a beautiful country. It have seldom seen such scenery elsewhere. I particularly like the shots of Old Mostar and Kravice Waterfalls.

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  29. What an enchanting place! Thanks for sharing. I hope I'll visit it some day.

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  30. A lot of amazing place to visit, great shot as usual
    Thanks for this useful list
    Ciao
    Stefano

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  31. Oh how beautiful all these places look. I would love to visit each place.

    Thanks for your recent comments. I took a break for a couple of months and just now getting back into the swing of things. Worth it when I get to see shots like yours along the way.

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  32. HI Mersad Congrats on your 700th post. Now this post is outstanding. you are such a talented photographer . Where you live is stunning and certainly worth a visit. By the way, i did cook your pasta dish, only added some vegetables and creme frais as I did not have cream in the house but it was delicious. Will do again. thanks

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  33. So many beautiful places there. I would love to visit but probably never will. Still I get to by viewing your awesome photos.

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  34. I had no idea that is was such a beautiful place, thank you for enlightening me

    Mollyxxx

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  35. Mersad..I hesitate to share posts without permission, but would love to put this up on my Facebook as I am sure that people don't know how beautiful it is where you live. I am glad that others recognize that too as I would love to visit and have you as the travel guide since you know things so well and present them beautifully. Thank goodness for blogging so that we can connect... Michelle from Nature Notes..

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  36. You have incredibly amazing photos! They make me want yo visit Herzegovina :)

    Alejandra

    http://argentineexpat.blogspot.com/

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  37. I ja sam na svom blogu odabrao otprilike ista mjesta kada sam pisao o tome šta posjetiti u BiH. Dodao sam još par nekih lokacija, ali ovo je glavnina. :)

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