Blagaj Tekke

Just outside Mostar, the Blagaj Tekke is one of Herzegovina's most enchanting and serene sights, a white-walled Ottoman dervish monastery set in a spectacular natural amphitheatre. Built for Sufi mystics around 1520, the elegant half-timbered lodge nestles at the foot of a towering vertical cliff, beside which the Buna River bursts out from a deep cave in a gush of astonishingly clear, cold turquoise water, one of Europe's largest karst springs. The combination of tranquil architecture, dramatic rock and pure water is magical.

Background

Vrelo Bune, meaning Buna Wellspring, is the natural and architectural ensemble at the source of the Buna River near the village-town of Blagaj, south-east of Mostar. It belongs to the wider protected townscape of Blagaj, with Ottoman Mediterranean architecture dating back to 1520, and was given protection because its natural and man-made parts blend together and its buildings fit into the landscape. The spring is among the largest in Europe, releasing about 30 cubic metres of exceptionally cold, clean water per second. The Blagaj Tekke ensemble probably arose soon after Ottoman rule was established in Herzegovina, around 1520 at the latest. Four bridges once crossed the Buna along its 9 kilometres, two of them at Blagaj and the others at Kosor and in the village of Buna.

Source: Wikipedia, "Vrelo Bune"

What to look for

• The dervish tekke - the serene white Ottoman monastery.
• The Buna spring - the river gushing from the cliff-foot cave.
• The cliff setting - the towering rock wall above the tekke.
• The riverside cafes - the terraces over the crystal water.

When to go

April to October, for the warmest weather and greenest setting; the spring is at its most powerful after snowmelt in spring. It is easily visited as a half-day trip from Mostar, and quietest early in the day before the tour groups arrive. Boat trips into the cave run in season.

Things to know

It is a small site, best combined with Mostar rather than a destination in itself, and it can get busy with tour groups and lined with riverside restaurants, so early or late visits are calmest. As a working religious site, modest dress is expected inside.

Nearby

Mostar, the Kravice waterfalls and Pocitelj are close by.