Europe

Bosnia a Gravel Biking Adventure on the Trans Dinarica Trail

We were gravel biking across Bosnia in late June, when the days were already much too hot for us, between 32 C to 39 C. We have been cycle touring in the Western Balkans following one of the Trans Dinarica routes since mid-May when it was cold. We started in Albania then headed through Northern Macedonia, Kosovo, briefly to Montenegro, Serbia and have now arrived in Bosnia. The scenery along this steep mountainous route has been stunning as we travelled through forests and pastoral land full of wild flowers and visited towns and villages. By the time we finish our cycle in Sarajevo, Bosnia, we will have cycled 1755 km and climbed 30,000 m in 40 days. As we are just either side of 70 this is no mean feat!

The route we took across from Bajina Basta in Serbia to Sarajevo in Bosnia is shown below.

We arrived in Bosnia having crossed the River Drina from Bajina Basta in Serbia
As we headed around the lake the weekend had started, most of the chalets were filled with families and fishermen.
The difference from Serbia was immediate. Gone were all the new, expensive looking houses. In Bosnia it looked like the war had only just ended, not 30 years ago. There were a lot of burned out houses. There were some new houses but not well built and it looked like some of the burned out houses were still being lived in.
What was horrifying once we left the town was that near many of the burnt out houses there was a small cluster of graves. We could look across the river and see the prosperous Serbian holiday homes on the other side. It was very thought provoking and chilling, as if nothing had moved forward in the last 30 years.
If you look closely at this memorial you will see that most of the people died in 1992
Although we were following the river and then going around the lake it was not the easy cycle I had hoped for. There were some quite steep sections and my day off legs were complaining.
We only had a short and easy, we thought, cycle today to get us to the bottom of tomorrow’s big climb of just under 2000 m in 63 km. We ate lunch in town so we would be carrying one less meal, as my food bags were already full with the 3 meals we will need.  We booked this little A frame hut on the side of the lake, basically in the middle of nowhere, just at the start of the climb.
Bijou as they say
But the views from the bed are great, although we had to climb over the bedhead to get in
Although the views are great the quantity of mosquitoes was greater. When we first arrived we were serenaded by a warbling Golden Oriole from the woods, it was lovely.  And soon we were sitting by the lake watching a bird of prey circling, looking for a easy meal
Our very drunk landlord turned up with his pals on the very strange raft/boat. Peace shattered!

The following day we had 2000 m to climb to get to Han Pijesak so we were up early and on the hill by 6.30 am.  This was to beat the heat and give us time to walk if needed.  It was a lovely cool 14 C to start, and the low sun hadn’t made it over the trees so we had lots of shade.

The lake looked wonderful in the early morning mist
An unusual orchid. Its not the best picture as I was trying to stop my bike rolling back down a steep hill at the same time. Its an Adriatic Lizard Orchid
We had decided to pace ourselves as it was going to be a long climb, so we had agreed to only cycle the really easy bits and hike a bike up everything else. The first hill, although lower than the next, was going to be the hardest. It was all gravel for 8 km and we walked half of it.
It was very pleasant with nice views. We were passed by a few cars full of men going to work, although how the ancient Lada got up and down the steep, rocky road with four men on board I have no idea.
A couple of men stopped while we were walking and asked if we needed help. It was tempting to say yes, give us a lift to the top, but we said we were fine.
We carried on cycling and walking and in two hours we were at the top of the first hill and feeling fine.
Here we passed a memorial to the 147 people that had been killed from this village in 1995, whole families wiped out including a 14 year old boy. It was only a small village. Just horrifying.
The village where the families had lived in 1995. Although rebuilt the original burnt out houses are still there. I ask about all the burnt out houses and was told that no one knows who owns them, so they are left.
Although we had a bright blue sky today it stayed cool as we got higher, with a fresh breeze. The next hill, again gravel but in much better condition, was a delight. We both really enjoyed this section.
We were away from civilisation in a big forest with easy gradients. There were butterflies everywhere, lots of flowers and mixed woodland. There were also lots of birds singing and occasional great views. We thought it was one of the best days on this trip.
Stopping for a pic-nic in the woods
Perfect gravel roads for miles
Foxgloves by the roadside
Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet
Lovely flowering meadows
A Smooth Snake
A Long Horned Boring Beetle or a Mourning Beetle
We had quite a short route to Sokolac before heading for Sarajevo. So we set off late and undulated along rural lanes between fields
This farmer seemed to be suffering from the heat as much as we were
A Stork
It seems that this farmer is cutting a hay field with a small lawnmower
We stayed at Sokolac overnight and were away early the next day as it was going to be a hot day with a fair old climb, about 1250 m, that would take us to the hills above Sarajevo. We were off-road almost immediately and initially it was fairly steep. After a while we got to a much gentler climb through the forest on dried mud tracks though areas of piled up cut tree trunks and dense forest.
It was lovely cycling and cool in the shade in the forest.
When we came out into more open countryside we had the most stunning views, I had to force myself to stop taking photos. It was a really lovely morning.
We started dropping a long way down to the town of Pale
One of many Asphodels
There were lots of these Common Spotted Orchids along the roadside
Knapweed being tended by hover flies
By the time we left Pale and started the second climb of about 500 m it was more than 34 C in the sun (31 C in the shade, but there wasn’t any). We were on tarmac now which always feels hotter. We just settled into a slow climb and eventually turned off onto smaller roads where there was a little shade and a lot of huge potholes. We had headed up Trebović mountain and were rewarded by views down over Sarajevo far below.
As we started the decent we went under the bobsled run from the 1984 Winter Olympics.   It was quite a monstrosity although still more or less there. 
From then on we were going down for 500 m at 20% to 25%, under the gondola and on a very narrow hairpinned road. With 200 m drop to go my back brake overheated and stopped working for a bit so I had to continue using mainly the front brake which seemed to last. Bit scary!
Then suddenly we were right in the centre of Sarajevo, surrounded by hundreds of tourists of all nationalities including English and American for almost the first time on this trip. We sat in the square and watched people feeding pigeons then headed off to find our flat.
Central Sarajevo
Chess being played in central Sarajevo
The Latin Bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in 1914, starting the First World War. He was only there as the Austro-Hungarian royal family were to embarrassed by his low born wife to send him anywhere they considered important.
The ill fated City Hall. As such bad luck befell the first two architects the final architect refused to ever visit the site.
The Bascarsija Bazaar, originally full of copper smiths and artisans
Looking back from the cathedral to the hills, it was in direct line of fire from up there during the siege. We were up there the previous day looking down at the city. The siege of Sarajevo lasted 1425 days, the longest in the history of modern warfare. It was 3 times longer than Stalingrad and a year longer than Lenningrad.
One of more than 200 Sarajevo Roses. This one is outside the cathedral. These are places where mortars landed during the siege leaving this distinctive pattern, and where more than 3 people were killed. They were later filled with red resin as a reminder. The cathedral has been rebuilt.
A certain female cyclist with her nose pressed to the window of the Baklava shop. We might have come away with a very sticky bag full.

It was now 24th June and we had been cycling in the Western Balkans since 15th May. We have really enjoyed cycling through Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia. We had hoped to complete the Trans Dinarica route this year but it is now just too hot for us so we have decided to stop for now while it is still fun, and to come back and finish the route next Spring.

If you have any questions about the route please do not hesitate to ask.

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