Why this ride
A 361 km round trip from Čapljina - roughly 7 h 39 in the saddle. The stops in between: Boljuni, Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar, Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards and Vjetrenica Cave. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bijača and Vjetrenica Cave
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 361 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 39
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bijača
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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bijača is where the day begins. Next is Boljuni.
2. Boljuni
In the stony hills of eastern Herzegovina, a few kilometres from Stolac, a field of grey limestone blocks lies scattered among oak scrub and dry grass. These are stećci, medieval tombstones carved between roughly the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, and Boljuni has a few hundred of them, many decorated with reliefs: rosettes, crescents, spirals, hunters with spears, dancing figures holding hands, a man raising an oversized hand as if in greeting. Nobody fully agrees on who made them or what all the symbols mean, which makes standing among them oddly moving. Together with other cemeteries across Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbours, Boljuni is part of the UNESCO site of Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards, inscribed in 2016.
Read the complete Boljuni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Boljuni comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.
3. Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
The Old Bridge in Mostar is a single stone arch, slender and impossibly high, leaping across the emerald-green Neretva between two fortified towers. The Ottomans built it in the 1560s, designed by an architect named Mimar Hayruddin, and for more than four centuries it stood as a symbol of the city. On 9 November 1993, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was shelled and collapsed into the river. It was rebuilt with the original techniques and stone recovered from the riverbed and reopened in 2004, and the following year UNESCO listed the Old Bridge Area as a symbol of reconciliation and cultural coexistence.
Read the complete Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 101 km into the recorded legs you reach Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar. Next is Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.
4. Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
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.
Read the complete Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards, about halfway. Next is Vjetrenica Cave.
5. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vjetrenica Cave sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.
6. back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards comes up about 226 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.
7. back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 259 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar. Next is back through Boljuni.
8. back through Boljuni
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Boljuni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Boljuni, late in the day. Next is Bijača.
9. Bijača
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bijača write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 361 km.
Leg by leg
Bijača to Boljuni
Bijača → Boljuni is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Boljuni to Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
Boljuni → Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar to Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar → Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards to Vjetrenica Cave
Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards → Vjetrenica Cave is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vjetrenica Cave to back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Vjetrenica Cave → back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards to back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards → back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar to back through Boljuni
back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar → back through Boljuni is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Boljuni to Bijača
back through Boljuni → Bijača is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.