Čvrsnica mountain: The First 2000m
The similarities across Balkan area is not only the history or language, but also the geographical characteristics. All countries in this region can be proud of plenty of hills, valleys, mountains, rivers and peaks. It becomes a tough, but rather sweet decision for a traveller to choose his destination.
Our plan this time was a 3 day hike in Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) and for that we chose a mountain called Čvrsnica located in the Park of nature Blidinje.
The trail we had in plan was a circle trail starting from Masna Luka close to Blidinje lake. The path would begin next to a St. Elijah church. The first part goes through dirt road and steep forest until we hit an open area surrounded by small hills. Then goes the T-section where we should take the left turn towards another steep part before the peak Pločno. On the way back the straight path would take us to the hut Vilinac. From there we would visit Hajdučka vrata (The Outlaws doors) and the head back to the start in a circle. All in all around 45 km and with some parts being a bit steep.
DAY 1
MORNING
Sadly, my prettier half couldn’t join me on this trip because she got sick the day before, so I had to find another victim, Luka. We left Split around 7 and already 1h later we drove though a Croatian-BiH border crossing called Kamensko. 1.5h drive further from the border we reached our destination at Masna Luka in Blidinje park. As we came with an old Golf 4 we weren’t too scared about someone stealing the car. On the plus side, the car was parked close to a church, so we counted on a low criminal activity in the area (speaking of the irony).
All jokes aside, the church of Sv. Ilija (St. Elijah) and the whole location was indeed radiating with peacefulness and zen. You could really understand why priests come here for a spiritual renewal. It was 10 o’clock and the sun rays escorted us to the beginning of our little adventure. The trail started behind the church following a 1 km pine tree forest before exiting on a wide dirt road.
10 mins into the road lead us to an intersection where we took a turn into the woods again for the peak Pločno. From that point we had 3 km of relatively steep uphill. We covered 500 m of elevation with 35% incline in average. Along the last bits of the uphill, a vertical, sharp and impossible to ignore reef called Ćužića kuk (1,793 m) appeared on our right side. As if someone just took an axe and cut of its face. A dream for any free climber.
AFTERNOON
Our next 4 km were quite opposite from the previous part. Hygge trail, joyful walk and fast pace over small rocky hills and bushes until we reached our second intersection. We covered 7.5 km in 3.5h so far and despite having only 2.5 km left it was not that easy. Not only were we a bit tired already but also that last incline was quite steep.
As we were going up the serpentines of those last 200 steep meters that seemed like kilometres, one thought was going through our head. Damn that soup from a bag will taste good! The house visible on the top is not a mountain hut, but actually a military base with permanent on duty soldiers. Needless to say that rules of conduct in this area must be followed! Finally, we reached the top and after meeting with the soldiers they allowed us to camp in the vicinity of the base.
EVENING
Before setting our tent and making ourselves like home we took advantage of the remaining sun light to take a few proof photos that we actually were here. It was November after all and the sun does set fast. After a small chat and a thank you to the soldiers for letting us stay around we decided it was time to make our beds. The first row from the stars and without a doubt one of the prettiest sights before bed time.
DAY 2
MORNING
Our morning views were just as captivating. Blue tones in addition to valleys filled with fog really made that fresh morning inhale even tastier. While sipping our tea and coffee we observed the whole atmosphere changing from morning blue to yellow as sun was slowly rising.
With our batteries charged we said goodbye to this amazing view and friendly soldiers. Our next point was the mountain hut Vilinac where we spent our second night. The distance from peak Pločno till Vilinac hut was 10 km and much easier path than the day before.
Steep way down took us back to the intersection where we now chose right towards “Peharovi stanovi”. We took advantage of the easy trail and developed a comfortably fast pace.
AFTERNOON
While going through “Janjičari” area thousand little hills looked like small islands sticking out of the sea. 2.5h into our walk brought us to Peharovi stanovi, a picturesque valley just 40 mins from hut Vilinac.
At last, Vilinac hut. Located bellow the peak Veliki Vilinac (2,113 m) it offered wonderful scenery to experience from its 1,885 m height. Even though our hike for the day was still not finished, it felt nice to sit back and rest. Old sandwiches were out while we took pleasure of the view in front!
Such a unique piece of nature this is. Veliki Kuk (The Great Hip) carries the title as the highest rock on Balkan reaching 1,700 m above sea level. Above all an imposing sight. Once we took our break we left the hut for a short 3 km sightseeing walk. We were headed towards Hajdučka Vrata (The Outlaws door – 2,000 m). Hajdučka Vrata is a natural phenomenon created by the hand of mother nature itself, untouched by the human hand.
Undoubtedly the most impressive view we have seen. Such a magnificent sight. The grandiose canyon of the river Diva Grabovica which is more than 1,600 m deep and 6.2 km long blew our minds away. Easily a place we could sit and admire for weeks. Unfortunately we had to leave already as the day was soon coming to an end.
EVENING
Since the hut can be entered only by making a reservation, we decided to sleep in our tent again since it was fully booked for the weekend. Just when we made peace with a chilly night, a rescue came out of the blue. As we were sitting around the fire, the mountain hut host Sabahudin and his friend Muhamed spotted us from the distance and invited us to join them for the evening in the hut. They came the night before to welcome the group tomorrow and once again showed how amazing people in the mountains are. Another big thanks to them!
DAY 3
MORNING
A cosy and warm night gave us a nice rest for our last day. Before heading back to the car we decided to take a quick look of the Veliki Kuk (The Big hip) as it wasn’t a long walk and we just couldn’t resist. When we left the hut the weather was more or less fine and clear, but 20 mins after the fog just covered the whole area.
Unfortunately we didn’t get the clear view from Veliki Kuk, but the fog gave it a cool mystical look! Now the time was to head back. We had 13 km to cover on the way back so we figured that the last few hundred metres would be at night. After we climbed the Veliki Vilinac peak (2,113 m) just above the Vilinac hut, everything was more or less downhill onwards.
1.5 km after descending from Veliki Vilinac we had some problems with the markings of the trail. Having a watch with a preloaded map helps massively!
AFTERNOON
14:30 and a well deserved lunch break. These food making moments in nature always give off the cosiest energy, don’t they? We still had 3h to go, so 15 min break was all we needed.
Once we reached an open view of our start point it hit us. You all know that feeling when some amazing journey is coming to an end and nostalgy just kicks in. As we were going down the forest path we were sharing our experiences and thoughts about the trip we just did. We lead those “Ahhh you remeber when we saw that…” or “damn that view was fascinating!” conversations all the way to the car. We cannot even put into words how amazing this trip and how beautiful Čvrsnica was in all of the 45 km we did in these 3 days. Bosnia is full of it and we are coming back for more!
