CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 306 km round trip from Čapljina - roughly 6 h 54 in the saddle. The stops in between: Vjetrenica Cave, St. Barbara and back through Vjetrenica Cave. It crosses from Bosnia & Herzegovina into Croatia - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 84 km this is Adriatic Highway, Jadranska Magistrala, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
In western Herzegovina, near the town of Ljubuški and close to the Croatian border, the land is a mix of karst hills, fertile valleys and vineyards, baked by the sun and scented with sage and fig. Near the village of Bijača, the necropolis of stećci, the medieval tombstones that are unique to this region, is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of stećci, spread across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. The tombstones, carved with crosses, spirals, figures and inscriptions, stand among the grass and stones, a silent reminder of the people who lived here centuries ago.
Read the complete Bijača write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Bijača is where the day begins. Next is Vjetrenica Cave.
The karst country inland from Dubrovnik is a landscape of grey limestone hills, stony fields and long, flat-bottomed valleys called poljes, which flood in winter and dry out in summer. Popovo Polje, on the Bosnian side of the border, is one of the largest, and at its edge, near the village of Zavala, lies Vjetrenica, the most famous cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its name means wind cave, from the strong current of air that blows out of its entrance, cool in summer and noticeable from a distance.
Read the complete Vjetrenica Cave write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Vjetrenica Cave comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is St. Barbara, 63 km on.
Konavle is the long, fertile valley that runs south east of Dubrovnik towards the Montenegrin border, and St. Barbara is a small church at Dubravka, near its upper edge, surrounded by a field of medieval tombstones. These stećci, heavy carved blocks of limestone dating from the late Middle Ages, are part of the cross-border UNESCO listing of stećci cemeteries shared by Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The Dubravka group is one of the most accessible in Croatia, and the setting, with the church, the old stones and the view over the valley, is quietly beautiful.
Read the complete St. Barbara write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach St. Barbara. Next is back through Vjetrenica Cave.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vjetrenica Cave write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Vjetrenica Cave, late in the day. Next is Bijača.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bijača write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Bijača. That is the ride.
Bijača → Vjetrenica Cave is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vjetrenica Cave → St. Barbara is 84 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
St. Barbara → back through Vjetrenica Cave is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Vjetrenica Cave → Bijača is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.