The Greek hillock, Grčka glavica, is a misleading name: the medieval tombstones that crown it have nothing to do with Greece. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, folk tradition often credited the stećci, the great carved medieval tombstones of the region, to Greeks, giants or other mysterious ancestors, and the names have stuck. The necropolis near the village of Biskup, in the hills south of Konjic, is a group of these stones, some decorated with reliefs of crosses, rosettes, hunting scenes or figures, and it is one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of stećci medieval tombstone graveyards, listed in 2016.
The stones stand on a ridge with views over the surrounding hills, and the site has a lonely, windswept quality, especially in autumn and winter. Biskup lies in the upper valley of the Neretva, in a landscape of limestone mountains, forests and pastures, where small villages are scattered among the hills and life follows a slow rural rhythm.
Konjic, about twenty kilometres away, is a pleasant town on the Neretva with a restored Ottoman stone bridge and a long tradition of wood carving. Nearby, hidden inside a mountain, is a vast nuclear bunker built for Tito and the Yugoslav leadership during the Cold War, now open to visitors and used for contemporary art exhibitions. Boračko lake, a glacial lake in the mountains, and the canyon of the Rakitnica are beautiful places to explore.
The riding in the upper Neretva valley is excellent. Roads wind along the river and over the hills, with tight curves, steep gradients and spectacular views of the mountains and the turquoise water. Surfaces vary from good to rough, with gravel, potholes and occasional rockfalls, and traffic is light. Watch for livestock, trucks carrying timber and the occasional car taking a corner on the wrong side. Weather can change quickly in the mountains.
Konjic has fuel, shops and restaurants, and smaller villages have a store or bar. Local food includes lamb roasted on a spit, trout from the river, ćevapi, small grilled sausages, served with flatbread and onions, and pita, savoury pastries filled with meat, cheese or spinach. Come in late spring or early autumn. Find the stones on the ridge in the evening light, when the carvings cast long shadows, and enjoy the silence of one of the oldest graveyards in the Balkans.