Prašuma Janj and Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
391 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 34
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.
From Donji Vakuf it runs 391 km to Donji Vakuf; allow about 7 h 34 of riding. On the way it passes Ravanjska vrata, Dugo polje at Blidinje, Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar and back through Dugo polje at Blidinje. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Prašuma Janj
Prašuma means primeval forest, and Janj is one of the few places in Europe where that word is literally true. In the hills above the Janj river, between Šipovo and Donji Vakuf in central Bosnia, a block of mixed beech, fir and spruce forest has survived without logging, its oldest trees reaching enormous heights and girths. Since 2021 it has been part of the World Heritage site of ancient beech forests of Europe, joining a chain of reserves from the Carpathians to the Pyrenees.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prašuma Janj is where the day begins. Next is Ravanjska vrata.
2. Ravanjska vrata
The Kupres plateau is one of the high, open places of Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than a thousand metres up, with wide grasslands, cold winters and a sky that seems close enough to touch. Ravanjska vrata, the gates of Ravno, lies in this landscape, between Kupres and Tomislavgrad, and it is known for a group of stećci, the carved medieval tombstones that are found across Bosnia, Herzegovina and the neighbouring countries. UNESCO listed a selection of these necropolises in 2016. The stones are often decorated with spirals, crosses, hunting scenes and figures with raised hands, and their makers remain a subject of debate.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ravanjska vrata comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dugo polje at Blidinje.
3. Dugo polje at Blidinje
High on a karst plateau in Herzegovina, between the massive mountains of Čvrsnica and Vran, lies Blidinje, a wide upland valley of meadows, limestone outcrops and black pine forests at around twelve hundred metres. At Dugo polje, the long field, a cluster of medieval tombstones stands in the grass, carved with crosses, spirals, rosettes, hunting scenes and human figures. These are stećci, the distinctive gravestones of the medieval Balkans, made between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, and Dugo polje is one of the most impressive groups, part of the collection of stećci sites listed by UNESCO in 2016 across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 119 km into the recorded legs you reach Dugo polje at Blidinje. 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
Prašuma Janj closes the day.
Leg by leg
Prašuma Janj to Ravanjska vrata
Prašuma Janj → Ravanjska vrata is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ravanjska vrata to Dugo polje at Blidinje
Ravanjska vrata → Dugo polje at Blidinje is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dugo polje at Blidinje to Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar
Dugo polje at Blidinje → Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar to back through Dugo polje at Blidinje
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar → back through Dugo polje at Blidinje is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dugo polje at Blidinje to back through Ravanjska vrata
back through Dugo polje at Blidinje → back through Ravanjska vrata is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ravanjska vrata to Prašuma Janj
back through Ravanjska vrata → Prašuma Janj is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.