Čengića Bara and Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
487 km
Riding-time estimate
12 h 27
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 487 km round trip from Kalinovik - roughly 12 h 27 in the saddle. On the way it passes Dolovi in the village of Umoljani, Kalufi in Krekovi, Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar and Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Čengića Bara
Čengića Bara is a high pasture on the plateau around Kalinovik, in the mountainous heart of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is one of the most remote of the stećci sites listed by UNESCO in 2016. A group of medieval tombstones stands in the open grassland, carved with simple decorations, weathered by centuries of wind, snow and sun. Few visitors make it here, and that is part of the appeal. The stones seem to belong to the landscape itself, as much as the rocks and the grass around them.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Čengića Bara is where the day begins. Next is Dolovi in the village of Umoljani.
2. Dolovi in the village of Umoljani
Umoljani clings to the edge of the Bjelašnica massif above the Rakitnica canyon, an hour or so southwest of Sarajevo by road, and it is one of those mountain villages that feel a world away from the cities below. Stone houses with steep roofs, a small mosque and a scattering of shepherds' huts sit on a high green plateau, and nearby, at a spot known as Dolovi, a group of medieval tombstones called stećci lies in the grass. These carved limestone monuments, made between roughly the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, are found across Bosnia and neighbouring countries and were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2016. Their reliefs of hunters, dancers, spirals and crescent moons are a fascinating window onto a culture that left few written records.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dolovi in the village of Umoljani comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kalufi in Krekovi.
3. Kalufi in Krekovi
The Nevesinjsko polje is a broad, flat-floored basin high in the karst of eastern Herzegovina, ringed by bare limestone hills, and at Krekovi, near its edge, a group of stećci known as Kalufi stands in the grass. These medieval tombstones, carved between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, belong to the transnational World Heritage Site inscribed in 2016. At Krekovi you find slabs, chests and gabled forms, some decorated with crosses, rosettes and borders, set in rows facing roughly east to west in the old tradition.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 158 km into the recorded legs you reach Kalufi in Krekovi. Next is Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar, about halfway. Next is Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.
5. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 487 km.
Leg by leg
Čengića Bara to Dolovi in the village of Umoljani
Čengića Bara → Dolovi in the village of Umoljani is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dolovi in the village of Umoljani to Kalufi in Krekovi
Dolovi in the village of Umoljani → Kalufi in Krekovi is 101 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kalufi in Krekovi to Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
Kalufi in Krekovi → Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is 51 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 back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
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 Kalufi in Krekovi
back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar → back through Kalufi in Krekovi is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kalufi in Krekovi to back through Dolovi in the village of Umoljani
back through Kalufi in Krekovi → back through Dolovi in the village of Umoljani is 98 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dolovi in the village of Umoljani to Čengića Bara
back through Dolovi in the village of Umoljani → Čengića Bara is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.