The Secluded Forest [Part 1/3]: Into the Wilderness

Even though spring is starting to show its head slowly in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina, these northern regions I'm about to show you in this new three-part travel series, are just awaking from the long winter sleep, they were in. This series is called "The Secluded Forest" and it shows an isolated track along the river Sanica in the Prenj mountain range, near the town Jablanica. I went there with my sister and friends, and of course Beni was there as well. 

This is a multi-part travel series. Other parts include
Part One: Into the Wilderness
Part Two: Along the River Stream
Part Three: Deep Forest

click on the images for a bigger view

The Journey Begins

We arrived at the beginning of our hiking trail around 1 in the afternoon. I parked my car at the side of the road. You will not find parking here or any signs of civilization (except one house that you can see in the upcoming shot). In fact this is not a place that you will find on any map or tourist guide. Only locals know about the trail that leads you to the spring of the small river Sanica, that flows along side it. I wondered about the residents of this lone house here in the mountains, and the beautiful view they must enjoy so far up the mountain.

The Path

The dirt road we were hiking on, was only recently made, since a local water company had paved the way to the river spring to use it as drinking water. Fortunately not much damage had been made to the surroundings. The trail leads you up the hill for a good amount of time, until eventually descending into the river valley. But you will see that towards the end of this first part of images.

Beni was off his leash, and had a really great time in the wilderness. The narrow path took us along the edge of the mountain, The best views were on the right side, and you will see a couple of them in the next few shots.

Finds in the Wild

One of the first things that immediately grabbed our attention was a light blue colored water bed, through which the river Sanica was flowing. Out of all the green and brown colors of the surroundings the crystal blue was piercing out, and I wondered how it would feel to take a dip inside. Very cold was the obvious answer, but it just looked so inviting.

I also noticed a small cave on the opposite side of the mountain. Even though we didn't encounter any wildlife while on the hike, I'm sure there is lots to discover in the caves as well.

Descend into the River Valley

Our journey up the hill, had reached its peak, and form here on, a descent into the river valley was before us. The sounds of the river became louder and we knew, that the best part of our hike was in front of us. The forest also became thicker, and after a while...

...we were next to the river. The forest was now in front of us, and entering it would bring with it many surprises, that I will show you in the next parts.

End of Part One

To be continued...

Where I'm Linking To