Western Herzegovina

After breakfast and morning coffee (or tea) it’s time to meet the horses, get yourself and them ready, and take a first ride around the ranch. We will start the ride easy, exploring the surroundings to get to know your horse and see if you are all fine with your tack. After the ride we will have lunch break and a bit of time to rest. In the afternoon hours it’s time to ride again to complete local exploration. We will return to the stables in the early evening and then have dinner together.

It is time to get ready for a bit more riding. Everyone can help prepare the horses, although your guide will saddle and check each horse. Today’s ride will take us uphill, following a route through the village of Blaževići. On the way, we will pass the local Church of St Luke, the patron saint of horses and animals. Lunch will be served back at the ranch. In the afternoon, we will ride out again, this time to Krenica Lake. We will ride through open fields, with beautiful views all around us, often accompanied by wildlife such as rabbits, wild ducks, pheasants and other birds. The lake is very picturesque and quite deep: official sources indicate 47 metres, but its actual depth is unknown due to underwater caves. It is also surrounded by numerous local legends and stories. After a break by the lake, we will ride back to the ranch for dinner with our hosts, who will serve traditional food and drinks.

After breakfast, we start our ride from the ranch, crossing water channels several times before reaching an open area commonly called ”artemisia”. The name is self-explanatory: the route runs through fields of artemisia, an aromatic herb traditionally used in medicine. Cantering through the fields while enjoying the plant’s amazing and unique scent is quite an experience. Lunch will be served outdoors. We will enjoy a bit of rest in the shade of the trees while our horses have a bite of grass. Then we will head back to the ranch, riding alongside a number of water channels and passing local vineyards on our way. Once back at the ranch, we will unsaddle our horses and tend to them, and then sit down together for dinner.

Today we start the ride heading towards the vineyards, passing orchards and fields of corn, potatoes or wheat, depending on the season. We will then continue onto hilly trails, with a mixture of ascents and descents, so the pace throughout the day will be relatively slow. Outside the village, we will follow a route leading up to a hill called Svetigora. Once we cross to the other side, a serene, pastoral valley called ”Omerovac” opens before us. It is a family-owned field surrounded by four hills: Krstina, Ograda, Orlov Kuk and Svetigora, the hill we have just crossed. We will stop there for a long, nice lunch break in the deep shade of old oak trees. We can simply rest or, for those who feel like it, play some traditional Herzegovinian games. Sooner or later, we will start heading back to the ranch. On our way home from the valley, we will encounter old tombstones – remnants of an ancient Roman necropolis. On some of them, you may still be able to recognise carved symbols and inscriptions. From there, we ride downhill and return to the ranch, arriving just in time for dinner.

After a solid breakfast, we saddle up and ride out. Today we take a picturesque trail that follows a small river called the Matica. The name is local, as people in the villages downstream give the river different names until it eventually reaches the Adriatic Sea. The route we will be riding today was used in 2010 as an endurance trail during the National Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the following years, several other endurance races also took place here. On the way, we will stop at a beautiful spot by the river, cool down both horses and riders, and have a lunch break. Towards late afternoon, we will ride back to the ranch along the river and local channels. Once we return and tend to our horses, dinner will be served.

It’s our last day in the saddle, and a very interesting one! After breakfast, we will ride to a beautiful lake called Nuga. On the way, we have a hill to climb in order to reach the entrance of a cave called ”Ravlića Pećina”, which we will, of course, visit. Further along the trail, we will reach the source of the Matica River, which we followed the day before. In the past, the area was known for its watermills, which ground grain into flour for local villages. Today, not much is left of them – barely buildings and some mill parts – but the landscape is undoubtedly beautiful. A picnic lunch will be served by the river, and then we will visit Peć Mlini, or ”Cave Mills” Park. After the break, we will mount our horses for the last time. First, we will ride back to Nuga Lake, and from there take a different route leading us back to the stables. Once there, we will unsaddle our horses, thank them for a great ride and take them to the pasture or stable for the last time. Then it is time for us: our final farewell dinner at the ranch.

Every adventure comes to an end, eventually. It’s time to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina and head home with great memories. Transfers to Sarajevo or Split can be arranged.