Monday, April 6, 2015

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...


36 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to this series. It looks a great place with many hidden gems to find.

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    1. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Parts 2 and 3 hold the best images of the series!

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  2. Lovely series and beautiful landscapes. And Beni always steals the show for me.. He is so cute. Happy Monday!

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  3. I wonderful journey Mersad. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  4. Wow, dieses Wasserloch mit dem grünem Wasser ist wunderschön.
    LG

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  5. I am so happy for Beni he could run free.. and can't wait for the surprises in the woods. these are each and every one just plain gorgeous.. I love the hairy mountain and the pegodas..

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    1. He was so happy, but there were big challenges for him along the way, which you will start seeing in the second part. This is only an introduction :)

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  6. Lovely stuff, Mersad!

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  7. Wow - that water is so blue!

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  8. What a beautiful place. I don't think I have ever seen water so blue.

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  9. Oh I look forward to this series. The blue of the river is incredible.

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  10. It's very remote, yet so beautiful! Thanks for your visit to my blog:)

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  11. The trail of water happily meandering through this scenic countryside is so beautiful. A glorious place to wander and dream.

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    1. Thanks Gemma. I also enjoyed that sight!

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  12. Beautiful scenes, Mersad. Looking forward to more!

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  13. That blue color is truly remarkable, Mersad. You do find wonderful adventures.

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    1. You too Jack :) Thanks for your comment.

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  14. OMG i wish i am near you, those are the things i would love to do. While in New Zealand we did some trail walks too even if we don't know what waits further away. The nicest thing in your part of the world is the cold weather, that you can cover more space without being tired unlike here in the tropics.

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    1. The coldness here does have its unique charm, and I think it speaks through the shots as well. Thanks for your lovely comment.

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  15. A gorgeous series of shots.

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  16. Lovely serie fotos and landscape,have a nice month april,
    Greeting from Belgium

    http://louisette.eklablog;com

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  17. Lovely winter shots!I especially like those trunks covered with green moss above tourquoise water. Gorgeous!

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  18. Thank you for this beautiful sightseeing !

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  19. I love the wildflowers, but the scenery is so very beautiful!

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  20. Eine wunderschöne Landschaft! Das letzte Foto finde ich ganz besonders toll!

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  21. What a wonderful place for the inhabitants of that lone house. The water is so unique in color. I am sure the Beni loved being off leash. My daughter's little dog loved hikes but he needs to be carried more as he is older now... Michelle

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  22. You find such beautiful places to explore!

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  23. Dear Mersad,

    Thank you for sharing your amazing photography and journeys each week with us at Inspire Me Monday - we're privileged to travel the world with you!

    Congratulations - I'm delighted to share that you will be one of our featured guests at this week's Inspire Me Monday Party (#171)!

    Have an amazing week and we look forward to continuing the journey with you!

    Create With Joy
    http://create-with-joy.com

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  24. I've just spent some time catching up and enjoying your last few posts. There are too many beautiful photos to choose favorites, but I feel like I've just enjoyed a wonderful and interesting vacation!

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  25. How wonderful that only the locals know about this forest trail! How awesome that we get to "go" on the hike with you!

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  26. I think I like the very last shot the best!

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