The Romanija plateau east of Sarajevo is a strange and beautiful upland: rolling meadows and dark pine forests at around a thousand metres, under a sky that seems bigger than it should. Luburića polje, a field near the town of Sokolac, holds one of the necropolises of stećci, the medieval tombstones of the Balkans listed by UNESCO, and the surrounding countryside has been a place of burial for thousands of years.
Long before the stećci, the people of the Iron Age raised hundreds of burial mounds across the Glasinac field nearby, giving their name to a whole archaeological culture. Finds from these tumuli, including bronze jewellery, weapons and horse gear, are now in museums in Sarajevo and Vienna. The medieval tombstones continue that tradition in their own way, some carved with crosses, swords and shields, others with moons and stars. Standing among them on a misty morning, with cows grazing between the stones and the forest edge a dark line on the horizon, you feel the continuity of the place.
The roads over Romanija are generally in decent shape, with long flowing stretches across the plateau and twistier sections as they climb from Sarajevo or descend towards Rogatica and the Drina valley. The main road from Sarajevo to Sokolac carries trucks and buses, while smaller routes offer quiet riding through forest and pasture. Winters are long and cold here, with heavy snow, and even in summer, nights can be chilly. Fog and sudden rain are common, and logging traffic can leave mud on corners.
Sokolac, with nearly nine thousand people, has fuel, shops and cafés. As elsewhere in Bosnia, landmines from the war of the 1990s are still present in some areas, so stick to paved roads and established paths. Local food is hearty: ćevapi, grilled minced meat served in flatbread with onions, burek filled with meat or cheese, and strong Bosnian coffee served in a small copper pot. The Romanija mountains are also known in legend as the home of hajduks, outlaw rebels of Ottoman times, and locals may have stories to tell if you linger.