Bosnia and Herzegovina

Destination 》Europe 》Central and Eastern Europe  》Bosnia and Herzegovina

Year Visited: 2018 – October

After spending couple of days in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the most beautiful walled city, we continued our backpacking through the Balkans journey by taking a bus to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because of geographical location, we decided to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina after visiting only one city in Croatia. We went back to Croatia after visiting Sarajevo and Banja Luka. It was more convenient for the land transports.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (also know as B&H or BiH), a Balkan nation and one of the Republic of former Yugoslavia in the Central Europe. It is not entirely landlocked; to the south it has a narrow coast on the Adriatic Sea, which is about 20 kilometers’ (12 miles) long.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the most interesting country out of the former Yugoslavia Republics. It has the most complex and challenging internal geographical and political borders. I spent at least an hour to understand border of Herzegovina region and Bosnia region with no luck; all I learned was Mostar belongs to Herzegovina and Sarajevo belongs to Bosnia but Sarajevo is also the capital of the country Bosnia and Herzegovina; on top of that I learned that the country is divided into two separate entities; Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Different from the country Bosnia and Herzegovina) is one entity and other entity is Republika Srpska with its own flag and government, with city of Banja Luka as its capital.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group (Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats). However, the central government’s power is highly limited, as the country is largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third unit, the Brčko District, governed under local government.

All you need to know is, there is a peace in this country. Doesn’t matter which part of the country you are in, Bosnia, Herzegovina or Republika Srpska, locals are very friendly and welcoming, eager to talk to you and know about you and your country.

Below are some places we explored during our a week long travel around Bosnia and Herzegovina. Click on any city to view my travel photos and stories.

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After a week in a very hospitable country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we continued our backpacking through the Balkans journey by taking a bus from Banja Luka to Zagreb, back to Croatia, to visit rest of the country.