Visiting Lukomir [Part 2/3]: Inside the Village

As the day in Lukomir continued, we moved away from the hills that were overlooking the village and moved into the village itself. In this second part I want to show you the village up close as well as some wide landscape shots of the area. Join us again, and make sure to return for the final part on Friday.

This is a multi-part travel series. Other parts include:
Part 1: On the Hills around Lukomir
Part 2: Inside Lukomir
Part 3: Sights from the road back Home

 click on the images for a bigger view 

Views from afar

It was getting pretty cold in the hills here, but the views were just so gorgeous that we couldn't up and leave too quickly. If you spend some time here, you will undoubtedly come across other hikers and visitors, as we did. People will stop and ask you where you're from and it's all friendly business here. I got a better view of the half grown hill, and still don't know why the vegetation stops mid-hill, but it's very interesting to observe. My guess is that the ground is different on the southern parts which causes the stop in growth.

From up here, you can enjoy many views: look up north and you will see Lukomir in front of you. Turn south or west and beautiful mountain vistas will greet you. I love gazing into the distance. Bring a blanket with you and you can sit here and simply take it all in. Of course the cold can be a challenge in that plan.

Hiking in and around Lukomir

Lukomir is the highest and most isolated village in the country. Indeed, access to the village is impossible from the first snows in December until late April and sometimes even later, except by skis or on foot. A newly constructed lodge is now complete to receive guests. From there, you can do some magnificent hiking in the area along the ridge of the Rakitnica Canyon, which drops 800m/2624 ft below. 

Entering Lukomir

Lukomir is known for its traditional attire, and the women still wear the hand-knitted costumes that have been worn for centuries. Present-day Lukomir can trace much of their ancestry to the Podvelezje region of Herzegovina. These semi-nomadic tribes would come to Bjelasnica in the summer months because of the abundance of water. Podvelezje, a dry plateau above Mostar, could not provide the herds with enough water to sustain themselves over the summer months. For reasons not entirely known, many of the villagers from the Podvelezje region eventually made permanent settlements in the canyon and later in the place where it is now located.

Children were playing basketball on an improvised hoop which was fun to observe. We brought them some candy, since we heard that their parents can't get away to the markets regularly to get it for them.

All houses look old here (and they indeed are), but somehow life inside of them continues. We asked some of the people about their lives, and they said, that most of them will move out of the houses by the start of November, or when the snow starts, and head towards Sarajevo.

During our visit we saw a lot of people working in the fields, taking potatoes out of the ground, making sure to package it all up for the farmers market. But I'm sure some of it is for themselves as well. You will find chicken roaming about freely as well as cows. It's a very unique and impressive sight.

The cold was growing stronger, so we headed towards the small restaurant which is attached to one of the houses. We ordered our food, but more on that, as well as our return home in the final part.

End of Part Two

To be continued...

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