Una National Park, Bosnia & Herzegovina
We crossed the border to Bosnia & Herzegovina on the 29th of July and settled into our cozy forest hut nestled within the beautiful Una National Park, which is located in the far North Western corner of Bosnia & Herzegovina. The Una National Park is the largest national park in the entire country, which itself is covered by nearly 50% forest, offering green landscapes almost everywhere you look. This was our very first visit to Bosnia & Herzegovina, and to be honest, we didn’t know much about the country before arriving. However, it didn’t take us long to discover that Bosnia & Herzegovina has a rich and vivid history. The sound of prayer echoing from a nearby minaret made it unmistakably clear that the country has been touched by a variety of cultural and religious influences over the centuries.
Bosnia & Herzegovina was first conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1463, and despite the relative religious tolerance practiced by the Ottomans, a significant number of Bosnians converted to Islam. Many did so in hopes of achieving better social security and economic advantages within the new ruling system. Today, nearly 50% of Bosnia’s population identifies as Muslim, reflecting how Islam has become deeply rooted in the country’s cultural and historical fabric. It is clear that Islam is not viewed as a “foreign” religion here, but rather as a part of the region’s identity that has endured for more than 500 years.
And of course there was the Bosnian war. It almost feels like a childhood memory to hear the news about “the war in Sarajevo”. When Bosnia & Herzegovina declared their independence from Yugoslavia in 1992, the competition amongst the 3 main ethnic groups in Bosnia erupted in a violent conflict. The Bosniaks, the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian Serbs fought until December 1995, when the war found its end in the Dayton Peace Agreement. Over 100.000 people died and it remains one of the most tragic and complex conflicts in post-World War II Europe. On our first evening in the National Park, we did a walk in the evening and came across a cemetery and a memorial plaque. A nearby town was raided by military police in 1992, and as every grave on this cementary showed the same day of death, it didn’t take a lot of imagination to picture the tragedy of this conflict.
On our second day in the Una National Park we did a long hike to discover the warerfalls at Štrbački buk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0trba%C4%8Dki_buk). The hike was around 5km one way over a local hill so we did around 12km that day and needless to say, the kids slept very well in the evening.
We also visited a nearby town called “Bihac”, where the kids jumped into the “Una River”. After lunch and ice cream, we enjoyed the afternoon in the large garden of our littel forrest hut, finishing the day with bonfire.
On our final day in the Una National Park, temperatures climbed to around 30 degrees and our host had recommended us a local spot at the Una River that was suitable for swimming. Una River has crystal clear water, but is also very cold. The temperature is between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius, and it took quite some convincing from the kids to go for a swim.
We thouroughly enjoyed our time in the Una National Park, which was a great entry into Bosnia & Herzegovina. We will stay in the country and continue our journey to Sarajevo on the 2nd of August.
