CENTRAL BOSNIA | A medieval tour (Jajce + Travnik + Pliva lakes)
Description
In the very heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina are two unique and historical towns, with unbeliveable natural lakes and spots. The city of Travnik is an old medieval town, known by its beautiful Old Town Fortress and unique place for Bosnian traditional Cevapi dish. Let us introduce you with the history of Travnik, through its main monuments and try an unique taste of traditional food. Jajce, traditionally known as King's Town, is the place with reach historical importance, from the first roots to nowadays. A city with breathtaking waterfall in the middle of the city, historical museums and medieval castle on the top of old town. After seeing part of its beauty, Jajce will surprise you with its green Pliva lakes, watermills, small watterfalls and nature. Surely, a place for nature lovers.
Tour Options
Itinerary
In the Middle Ages the Travnik area was known as the župa Lašva province of the medieval Bosnian Kingdom. The area is first mentioned by Bela IV of Hungary in 1244. Travnik itself was one of a number of fortified towns in the region, with its fortress Kaštel becoming today's old town sector. The city itself is first mentioned by the Ottomans during their conquest of nearby Jajce.
It's hard to miss the Sarena Dzamija (Multi-Colored Mosque), built in 1757. With its bright colors, its unique and intricate artistic details on the outside walls and its carved wood, it is said to be among the most beautiful mosques in the Balkans – and the only one in the country that people believe stores hairs of the prophet. It has unusual flower motives painted on the outside, and it is one of only two mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina in which the prayer room is positioned on the first floor, with the ground floor used to conduct business.
Old Fort is one of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval fortified buildings in Bosnia on which later historical periods left their distinctive characteristics. In so far known historiography sources, there is no record of the year and the duration of construction, or the builder. Historians agree that the castle was built in the second half of the 14th or the first half of the 15th century. By way of construction and other indications it is assumed that the original builder was King Tvrtko II Kotromanić, but King Stjepan Dabiša is also stated as a possible builder.
The fortress of Jajce sits above the town at an altitude of 470m. It is located within the complex of the medieval city that dates back to the 13th century. The fortress, constructed over several centuries, encircles the architectural remains of a mid-15th century castle. Located in the south-western side of the fortress is a portal with the royal coat of arms. This portal dates back to the time of Tvrtko II and King Stjepan Tomasevic, who moved the royal court to Jajce in 1421.
At 17 meters in height, the Pliva waterfall is one of the most notable features of Jajce. This natural monument is located in the very centre of the town and has been named one of twelve most beautiful waterfalls in the world. It is also the only waterfall in the world to create an estuary as it joins the Pliva River with the Vrbas River. Whether you are standing beneath it or looking down from above, the Pliva waterfall creates a spectacular view!
Located a few kilometers away from Jajce are the Great and Small Pliva Lakes. These lakes offer many recreational opportunities: fishing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, playing volleyball, biking and walking. There are also public barbeque facilities along the lakeside for picnics.
No longer used for actual milling, the Pliva Lakes watermills draw tourists down the river from the giant waterfall in town. That one is certainly impressive with its showy 65-foot drop. But the little shingled watermills feel like they might be home to some local trolls, with their dragons hitched up out back.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(11)
Muki was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable of the area and excellent driver. We had a great time and saw parts of this beautiful country.
We did the tour with Vedo who was an excellent and friendly guide who told us about his personal experience in the war living in Sarajevo. The places are very beautiful and with Vedo we enjoyed it much more!!
I can recommend this agency to anyone and Edi for your guide, definitely. They are very helpful for any question. We actually became friends on the tour and we learnt a lot from Edi. It is a combination of history and beautiful nature of this country. Bosnia is very pretty.
Dear Maria, thank you for the glowing and fantastic words. We are really overjoyed to read this 5-star review. Sincerely, Art and Tours Sarajevo
My parents originally come from Bosnia, so I already had a lot of knowledge. But since I had some friends with me from home, it seemed obvious with a guided tour. It was certainly not something we regretted, from here the warmest recommendations must sound, the guide was super nice and knew a lot about what he was talking about. This trip contained what we expected and much more. Subsequently, the guide was also very helpful and gave us his contact details, even outside of his working hours he was helpful with recommendations for places to eat, attractions etc. If you could give more than 5 stars, they would have!
Dear guest, thank you for the glowing and fantastic words. We are really overjoyed to read this 5-star review. Sincerely, Art and Tours Sarajevo
We felt very privileged to have Bakir as our guide. Bakir has a great sense of humour, and is extremely patient with our endless “interrogations”! As we had already spent a week in Bosnia by the time we took the tour, our curiosity at that stage has morphed from history to current affairs and pop culture. The insights Bakir generously shared, coupled with his brutally honest take on everything that is happening, made the tour unusually enriching and enjoyable. Hours flew by for us, and I hope we didn’t bore him. ;) Oh he is a great driver too! Special thanks to Mak as well who helped arrange the trip at short notice.
We spent a wonderful and interesting day with our tour guide Ken. We learned a lot about the history of Bosnia and the sights we visited. We had always and everywhere enough time for photos and further questions. Ken is a likeable young man who has often inquired about our needs. We can only recommend the tour!!
The tour was wonderful! Our tour guide Bakir was extremely knowledgeable, funny and kind. We enjoyed our time a lot experiencing some of the amazing nature and historical sites of Bosnia.
We had a great afternoon with our guide Said, who immediately welcomed us in a friendly atmosphere. We were able to visit the beautiful old town of Barcarsija with its Ottoman architectural style, as well as the bridge of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914. We were also able to discover the different places of worship, mosque, church is synagogue. As well as craft streets where trades are passed from father to son. Each place was steeped in history and our guide took us on a journey through the centuries and engaged us through his interactive presentation. I recommend you 100% this agency without hesitation. We came away super happy to have been able to discover so much about this beautiful city that is Sarajevo.
This was a great experience in our trip to Bosnia. Mak, our guide was excellent at giving us information about the sites and many interesting details about Bosnia in general. He was very patient since my husband and I like to take many pictures. Mak also made several stops to have a cold drink and refresh ourselves from a really warm day. Our pick up was right on time and the vehicle we rode was impecable. I would recommend this trip to anyone interested in history and want to visit beautiful and photogenic sites outside Sarajevo.
My family and I had a marvelous day taking the Medievil Tour with Alan. Alans knowledge was most impressive, his kindness most welcome and his love for his country obvious. Alan cared for my family as a brother.
