Blidinje Nature Park

Blidinje occupies a plateau at around 1,200 metres between the Cvrsnica massif and the Vran mountain, and the combination is unusual: a flat karst floor with a shallow seasonal lake, Blidinje jezero, ringed by two of the highest and roughest ranges in the country. Masna Luka holds a Franciscan monastery and a group of stecci, the medieval carved tombstones, and the park's largest necropolis, at Dugo Polje, is one of the sites inscribed together as a World Heritage property. The endemic Bosnian pine, Pinus heldreichii, grows on the slopes in ancient twisted stands. The park has mountain huts, a small ski lift and marked routes onto both massifs, and it is the base for the Hajducka Vrata arch and the Cvrsnica traverses.

History

Traces of Illyrian graves and Roman roads show that the plateau has been lived on for at least 2,500 years, and the large necropolis at Dugo Polje shows that the Slavs who arrived in the 7th century settled here too. Five medieval necropolises of stecci, at Ponor, Donje Bare, Jezero, Risovac and Dugo Polje, the largest, are scattered across the plateau, along with a Franciscan monastery and traditional shepherds' houses with straw roofs used in spring and summer (Wikipedia, Blidinje plateau).

The landscape

• Blidinje lake - the shallow seasonal water on the plateau floor.
• Cvrsnica and Vran - the two ranges enclosing the plain.
• Bosnian pine - the ancient endemic stands on the slopes.
• Stecci at Masna Luka - the medieval tombstones by the monastery.

When to go

June to September for the plateau and the mountains; snow closes the roads and the huts from November into spring. The lake shrinks or dries in late summer. Nights at altitude are cold in any month.

Practical notes

Access roads are mountain roads, steep and rough in places and closed in winter. The lake is shallow and often dry by late summer. Huts are basic and need booking. Weather on the plateau changes fast.

Nearby

Hajducka Vrata is on Cvrsnica above; Jablanica lies east.

Key facts