21-Dec-2023
A 30-minute bus journey will get you from Mostar to the village of Blagaj, and it's totally worth the KM 2.10 (GBP 0.93) per person per way.
Check out this super-clear and useful post for all the practical information, but the bottom line is that Blagaj houses a monastery dating back to the 16th century, and it's situated in the most stunning spot, where the Buna river comes bursting out of a karst cave at the rate of 43,000 litres per second.
We didn't actually visit the monastery, but we loved the atmospheric location:
There's a castle way up on the cliff-top
And a number of picturesque buildings line your route to the monastery
And here it is, right beside the spring
I can imagine this place gets pretty overloaded during the summer months, judging by the (currently dormant) souvenir outlets lining the track. But on a weekday in December, it's perfect.
Clearly, whatever the time of year, the thing to do is to have something to eat or drink down by the river, on one of the many terraces. So we duly obliged:
Bosnian coffee and smokvara (this is a dessert infused with fig jam, and it's as good as it sounds)
This village seems to be pomegranate central, and they're the first thing you see when you step off the bus:
I don't think I've ever seen pomegranates just growing like that, and became a little pomegranate-obsessed:
Of course, we had to eat some...
And then the bus ride home. A very pleasant little excursion.