Backroads of the Balkans MotoTour

Mostar
Located in the inlands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is Mostar, most well known for its 16th century bridge. Built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, this stone bridge is a symbol of the war and now connects two culturally and religiously diverse areas. With fortified towers on each side, known as ˝Bridge Keepers˝(Mostari) Belebija and Tara, this bridge dominates the Neretva River with a height of over twenty meters. Visit the Bizaar, turkish house and local mosque.

Kravica Waterfalls
Stop in Kravice National Park on the Trebižat River not far from Mostar – a spectacular cascade that plummets over 30-meter (98-foot) forming a natural amphitheater spanning 120 meters as the river splits into a dozen or more separate waterfalls between massive boulders into the lake below.

Pocitlj – UNESCO heritge site
The Ottoman-era fortress village of Počitelj is surrounded by a rocky amphitheatre, with stairways climbing between medieval stone-roofed houses. The large 1562 Hadži Alijina Mosque was fully restored after its destruction in the war of independence in the 1990s. The 16 meter clock tower remains bell-less, as it has been since 1917. The iconic Gavrakapetan Tower is in the still part-ruined Utvrda fortress. You can climb the bell tower and ramparts for spectacular views over the countryside.

Kotor & Surrounding Montenegro

Ride along coastal Montenegro to Kotor Bay and the medieval town of Kotor & the ramparts of St. John’s (Sveti Ivan) Fortress, originally built by the Illyrians in the 5th century.

Descend the back side of the mountain along switchbacks back to Kotor.

The earliest Kotor city walls were built into steep, rocky cliffs back in the 9th century to protect the town from invaders. They were added to over the years by whoever ran the city at the time – everyone from the Illyrians to the Byzantines and Venetians – until the 15th century when they finally formed a full loop running up into the hillside. There’s a mixture of ramparts, gates, churches, forts and bastions mixed in with them, and despite the onslaught of time, invasion and earthquakes they’re still remarkably well-preserved.

Sarajevo

Sarajevo is one of the most historically interesting cities in Europe and the political, historical & cultural center of Bosnia & Hercegovina. Home to Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Bosnian muslims, Sarajevo is often referred to as the Jerusalem of Europe.

Known for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand beginning WWI, the wonderful Bascarsija bazaar, and the elegant Austro-Hungarian architecture, it is also a vibrant living city.

Blagai
The Tekke (khanqah, dervish house), at the source of the river Buna, was founded by Dervishes from the Bektashi order in the 16th century. The buildings were two-story buildings, with protruding oriel windows and beautiful flower gardens. Two musafirhanas (charity houses for guests) were used for the accommodation of travelers.