Bosnia is a country in the Balkans, formed in 1992 as Yugoslavia broke apart. It went through civil war until 1995, but things have settled since then and the economy has been picking up. There has also been talk of Bosnia eventually joining the European Union.
We were fortunate to be commissioned by the Bosnian tourism board to shoot around the country, with the photos and videos to be used to promote tourism there.
Here are a few of the places we covered.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has direct connections from hubs like Istanbul and Dubai, so from New Delhi it was a single stop via Istanbul. The city is fairly developed and feels much like any other European town.
One of the first places we visited was Vrelo Bosne, a park just outside Sarajevo. It has a waterfall, as you can see below, and a canal running through it, ringed by alpine hill forest. It makes for a good half-day visit.
Visoko and the Pyramid of the Sun
Next we went to the town of Visoko, about 60 km from Sarajevo, where some of the hills are shaped like pyramids.
There is a local belief that these hills were once actual pyramids, with a system of passages inside like the Egyptian ones. We cannot speak to that, but the area is certainly striking. The main hill is the Pyramid of the Sun, a good 20-minute drive up from the town, and it overlooks all the surrounding hills. Nearby is the smaller Pyramid of the Moon.
It is the pyramid-like shape of the hills that gave rise to these theories in the first place.
The rainforest at Foča
Before the trip we had read a lot about the rainforest at Foča. It is said to be the largest primeval forest in Europe, and it is a vast stretch of dense woodland. What I liked most is that it has not been spoiled by tourism or development, as some other European wild places have. Hotels are scarce and we saw no industry along this 30 to 40 km stretch, only a few small, eco-friendly homes. The morning we went, it was washed out by rain and we could not shoot much.
The sand pyramids
The evening before, we visited another spot near Foča, the sand pyramids: natural rock formations rising in the middle of the dense forest. They are not pyramids in any real sense, but they look fine against the green.
Sunsets in Bosnia
Much of the country is made up of small hills and plateaus, and it is hard to find any real stretch of flat land. A lot of it looks like the Swiss Alps, with green valleys and alpine trees all around.
Beyond the main sights, we drove the length and breadth of the country and came across many fine moments. One of them was a sunset like this.
Kravice Falls
Next we headed north and came to Kravice Falls, a waterfall of many streams in hilly country. We had to walk down a fair way from the car park to reach the base, but the effort was well worth it.
Una National Park
Our last stop, before crossing into Croatia, was Una National Park. The Una River runs through it, twisting and turning over a series of waterfalls. The most striking is Štrbački Buk, a three-tiered fall about 25 metres high in total.
As I write this, I am in Slovenia, waiting for brown bears in a hide. That will be another story. But what we saw in Bosnia will stay with us for a long time, and we will soon be launching the Balkans as a photo-tour destination, covering Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia.
