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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Gvozno and Bijača

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
455 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 42
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.

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Why this ride

455 km from Kalinovik to Kalinovik, about 10 h 42 of riding. On the way it passes Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup, Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar, Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards and Bijača. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Gvozno

    Out on the high karst plateau around Kalinovik, south of Sarajevo, the land opens into wide pastures and rocky hills at well over a thousand metres, ringed by the mountains of Treskavica, Lelija and Zelengora. Here and there, half-hidden in the grass, lie stećci, the carved medieval tombstones that are unique to this corner of the Balkans. The necropolis at Gvozno is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of stećci, which spans Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

    Read the complete Gvozno write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Gvozno is where the day begins. Next is Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup.

  2. 2. Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup

    The Greek hillock, Grčka glavica, is a misleading name: the medieval tombstones that crown it have nothing to do with Greece. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, folk tradition often credited the stećci, the great carved medieval tombstones of the region, to Greeks, giants or other mysterious ancestors, and the names have stuck. The necropolis near the village of Biskup, in the hills south of Konjic, is a group of these stones, some decorated with reliefs of crosses, rosettes, hunting scenes or figures, and it is one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of stećci medieval tombstone graveyards, listed in 2016.

    Read the complete Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.

  3. 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 156 km into the recorded legs you reach Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar. Next is Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.

  4. 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 Bijača.

  5. 5. 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 sits at 152 km, about halfway. Next is back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.

  6. 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 267 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.

  7. 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 300 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar. Next is back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup.

  8. 8. back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup, late in the day. Next is Gvozno.

  9. 9. Gvozno

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Gvozno 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 455 km.

Leg by leg

Gvozno to Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup

Gvozno → Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup to Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar

Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup → Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is 104 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 Bijača

Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards → Bijača is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Bijača to back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards

Bijača → back through Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards is 38 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 Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup

back through Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar → back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup is 101 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup to Gvozno

back through Grčka glavica in the village of Biskup → Gvozno is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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