Jablanica lies on the Neretva, a river of an astonishing blue-green colour, in a narrow canyon between the mountains of Herzegovina, and it is one of the most memorable stops on the road between Mostar and Sarajevo. The town of about six thousand people sits beside a long reservoir, formed by a dam in the 1950s, and its main road, the M17, runs along the water, with cliffs and tunnels on one side and the lake on the other.
The Neretva is famous in Yugoslav history. In early 1943, during the Second World War, Tito's partisans fought a hard battle here against German, Italian and collaborating forces, crossing the river over a bridge that had been blown up and partly rebuilt as a makeshift span. The ruined bridge, with its twisted steel girders hanging in the water, still lies in the river below the town, and a museum of the Battle of the Neretva stands nearby, with a film made about the event that became famous around the world.
Jablanica is also known for something simpler. Along the road, a row of restaurants roasts whole lambs on spits over open fires, a sight and a smell that stop most travellers. The meat is tender and salty, served with bread and onions, and eating it beside the river with a view of the mountains is one of the pleasures of the Balkans. The town also makes sweets, and a coffee in the Bosnian style, thick and strong, served in a small copper pot, is worth ordering.
For the rider, the road through the canyon is a pleasure, with long flowing curves, tunnels and viaducts, and views of green water far below. The surface is generally good, but there are patches of broken tarmac, rockfall in places, and heavy trucks, particularly in summer. Overtaking is risky on blind bends, so be patient. The best time is spring or early autumn, when the weather is mild and the traffic lighter.
Fuel and food are easy in Jablanica, which has several stations and shops, and Konjic, a larger town about sixteen kilometres away, has more, along with a beautiful old Ottoman stone bridge from the seventeenth century. Carry a little cash in convertible marks, since cards are not accepted everywhere.