Radimlja, just outside Stolac in Herzegovina, is the finest of the stećak graveyards, and it lies right beside the main road, which makes it one of the easiest pieces of medieval Europe to stop for. Stećci are massive limestone tombstones, shaped like chests, slabs or little gabled houses, carved between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries across the medieval kingdom of Bosnia and neighbouring lands. Many are decorated with reliefs: spirals, vines, crescents, stars, hunting scenes, dancers holding hands, and knights with swords and shields, and one figure at Radimlja raises an oversized right hand in what may be a greeting or a blessing. In 2016 UNESCO listed a group of these graveyards across four countries together.
Who made them is still debated. They were once linked to the Bosnian Church, a dissident Christian community, but Catholics, Orthodox and others used them too, and they seem to reflect a shared regional culture rather than a single faith. Walking among the stones in the late afternoon, when the low sun brings out the reliefs, is quietly moving.
Stolac itself is worth a stop. The small town sits in the canyon of the Bregava river, with old mills, stone bridges, a fortress on the hill and mosques that were destroyed in the war of the 1990s and later rebuilt. The war's scars are still visible here and there, and the town's mixed history is complex and sensitive, so tread respectfully.
The riding in Herzegovina is excellent: limestone karst, dry hills covered with scrub and pomegranate trees, vineyards and tobacco fields, and roads that twist through canyons and over passes with little traffic. The road from Stolac toward Mostar, about forty kilometres away, follows the Bregava and then the Neretva valley, with the Počitelj fortress village on the way, and the road south toward Neum and the Adriatic coast crosses wild karst plateaus. Summers are scorching, often well over thirty-five degrees; spring and autumn are perfect. Watch for loose gravel and the occasional landmine warning sign in remote areas, and stay on roads and paths.
Stolac has fuel, cafés and simple restaurants, and the local food is hearty: grilled meats, burek and fresh river fish, washed down with Žilavka white wine. Mostar has full services and its famous bridge.