Tom`s travels: November 2026

Ania and I decided to plan a long-distance hike starting from Sarajevo. We opted to walk towards Jahorina mountain and either come back by taxi or sleep there. We started out by taking the cable car from the city center up to Trebevic. Once at the top, we followed the road running along the northern ridgeline of the mountain and reached Brus, an area with tourist facilities and being built up to further attract tourism. Here we tried leaving the main road and taking a path first among some houses and later through a forest, but it ended up being a non-existent path, only on the map, and very steep up the mountainside. We decided to give up and instead found a spot to sit down and have lunch. Then Ania thought she preferred to head back home and let me continue on the walk alone. We reached the main road, where she then continued straight to get back to the cable car, while I headed south to continue on the journey. I briefly followed the main road and then, after passing the Celina mountain hut, took a forest trail. It soon turned into the forest, large and clearly marked; it was easy to follow, and there was no one else in sight. After exiting the forest, I reached another road, this seemingly freshly asphalted, as it had dark cement. I passed through the sparse village of Stupanj and then took another country road past a semi-abandoned house where some dogs were chained and started barking at me. I managed to pass around and reached the run-down and crumbling former Energoinvest mountain hut. Here I took a break and ate a snack while admiring the view of Trebevic mountain already in the distance. After the break, I continued on my walk following the path, which once again headed through the forest. The first few kilometers were along a wide path, a bit through the forest and a bit through open flowering fields. Then the path became less trodden, hard to spot among the high grass, and eventually went through deeper forest. After a bit of struggling to find my way, I managed to exit the forest and reach the Dvorista settlement, part of the Jahorina mountain resort. A short walk along the main road eventually led me to the mountain village of Jahorina. The town is mostly known during the winter as it's where the Jahorina ski resort is located, which hosted the women's alpine skiing events of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Today, it is the most developed ski resort in the country, with many rental apartments. During the summer, despite still a few visitors, it looked quite empty compared to the winter. As I arrived, I decided to check into the apartment which I had booked after lunchtime, Apartman Ice Age, leave a few things, and then continue hiking to its highest peak. After restarting the walk, I followed a path through the village and then started walking on what is a slope during the winter, alongside the poles of the gondola lift. After a first uphill climb, I continued upwards and eventually reached the top of the Jahorina mountain range, on the Ogorjelica peak at 1916m. This was also where one of the gondola lifts ended, allowing people to use it to walk around the peak easily without making much effort. I walked around the top, admiring the nice views all around me. To the north, the whole ski resort with its many slopes, now obviously grassy, and the gondola lifts scattered here and there. To the west, Trebevic mountain, and Bjelasnica, and to the south and east, the mountains of Treskavica, Zelengora, and even partly Maglic. Sunset was soon approaching, and I admired the beautiful view with no one around. I then headed back towards the peak and saw that the mountain hut restaurant seemed still open. I headed inside to see if I could get something, but they told me they were just closing. I thus decided to head back down to the village and saw the gondola lift still working. I managed to sneak in and catch a lift without having to walk all the way down. Once down, I then looked for a place to eat and ended up choosing the Etno Restoran Koliba. I had a schnitzel and beer and then headed back to the apartment to sleep, even though I had to hike a bit up a ski slope and partly through the forest.

The next morning after an early rise, I left Jahorina, silent and without anyone around, and headed along the main road. I followed for quite a while, nearly all the way to the town of Pale, but as it was early, there weren't many cars using it yet. I eventually left the main road and passed through the small village of Radonjici before eventually reaching the edge of the town of Pale. Here I passed some houses and then arrived at the start of the path that connects Pale to Sarajevo, built over what was once the railway connecting the two towns through the Miljacka Canyon. The path had been used for a long time but was quite wild and had broken-down bridges along the way. Nowadays, a new project to turn it into a tourist cycle path has started with plans to pave it, rebuild the bridges, and install barriers alongside it. I started following the path, which for now is still made of small loose rocks, and went through the first of many tunnels, completely unlit and fun to traverse. Here I could see already the first barriers being installed in a short section, which I thought was taking away the beauty and natural state of the path. A short way ahead, I then reached what looked like a bridge under construction. Apparently, the old wooden bridge that was once there had been torn down, and a new metal one was being built. However, just the foundations were laid, with metal poles and large gaps in between, just barely covered by wobbly wooden planks. There was no other way around it, and I stopped to consider whether to head back or try it. At first, I thought I would easily manage, but as I was crossing over the planks, with the wooden pieces wobbling, I suddenly felt a bit of vertigo, which I had never experienced before, and my legs got shaky and heavy. I had no barriers on either side to hold on to to give me extra balance, and there were large gaps right below me which I could've easily fallen through. I managed to push myself forward and eventually cross the bridge. As I continued further, I passed by a nice section with views over the surrounding high cliffs and the river canyon below. I passed two more bridges, these ones already completed, and a long section sided by barriers, which took away from the natural beauty in my opinion. Then I reached a nice section with a series of tunnels and a steep cliff over the canyon. A short while after, I met the first people of the day, two cyclists who stopped to ask me how much further the trail was. I told them a few kilometers, but that it might then be hard to cross the bridge with their bicycles. They thanked me and told me they would reach it and then turn back. I moved on, and after a while, the path was again without barriers, this time in a more open area a little further away from the canyon. In front of me, I could now see Trebevic mountain, which meant I was quite close to Sarajevo. I started seeing more and more people along the way, all on bicycles and all heading towards Pale. After some more time walking, the path turned into an asphalt road which eventually led me to Šejhova Korija, a turbe located on the top of the hill with two dervish tombstones. It was used by Sufis as a gathering place, which also used a nearby cave for their 40-day-long solitude practice. From here, I also had a nice view of the Miljacka valley below. Moving on, a short walk led me to the Goat's Bridge, a 16th-century Ottoman stone bridge spanning the Miljacka River, and the only fully preserved bridge from the Ottoman period that still spans that river. After crossing it, I then followed a nice path along a flat valley called Dariva, passing by a popular rock climbing area. From there on the way is known as Ambassadors' Alley as ambassadors, serving in Bosnia and Herzegovina as high officials of their representative countries or major international organizations, get an opportunity to plant a linden tree during their mission and in front of every planted linden tree, a stone plate is installed containing the ambassador's name, country or international organization that they represent. In total nowadays there are over 200 planted trees and stone plates. I had fun walking along and reading the plates of each ambassador and eventually reached the city center of Sarajevo in the Bentbaša neighborhood. At that point a walk through the center brought me eventually back home after 63km over two days.