Jajce is a town built around a waterfall. The river Pliva joins the Vrbas right in the middle of town and drops about twenty metres over a lip of tufa into a green pool, with houses and a medieval fortress stacked above. It is one of the few towns in Europe where you can eat lunch within sight and sound of a waterfall that is part of the main street. The old walls climb the hill behind, with a citadel, gate towers and narrow lanes within.
Jajce was the last capital of the medieval Bosnian kingdom. After the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia in 1463, the last king, Stjepan Tomašević, was captured and executed, and Jajce fell in 1528 after a long resistance. In the Second World War the town hosted a decisive moment: in November 1943 the anti-fascist council of Yugoslav partisans met here and laid the foundations for the post-war federation, and the building where they met is now a museum. Under the town you can find catacombs and a small Mithraic temple, a reminder of how old the settlement is.
For riders, Jajce offers lovely roads in several directions. The Vrbas canyon road north to Banja Luka winds beside a green river between steep wooded walls, a popular route for rafting and for riders who love long flowing bends. South, the Pliva lakes and the little wooden watermills at Janj, a few kilometres out, make a good detour. Roads are generally decent but can be patched, and trucks and local drivers move fast.
Jajce has about ten thousand people and several fuel stations, so refuelling is easy, and the town has plenty of cafes and small restaurants serving grilled trout, cevapi and sweet pastry. The nights can be cool even in summer, and rain brings quick fog to the valleys, so carry a light waterproof.
Late spring and early autumn are the best periods, when the water is full and the forests are fresh or turning gold. Foreign riders should carry a Green Card for Bosnia.