Lukomir is Bosnia & Herzegovina’s highest inhabited village, sitting high in the Bjelašnica mountains at around 1,500 metres. Remote, traditional, and surrounded by some of the most incredible mountain scenery, it was a place we had been really looking forward to seeing.
Getting there was an adventure in itself. We spent around 40 minutes travelling along off-road mountain tracks, climbing higher into the mountains and taking in scenery that seemed to get better around every corner. And then there were the wild horses, roaming freely across the landscape, which somehow made the whole journey feel even more special.
This is definitely not a journey I’d recommend unless you’re in a 4×4. We saw several vehicles with punctures along the way, and there are stretches of track that really aren’t suitable for an ordinary car. But if you have the right vehicle, the journey is absolutely part of the experience.
When we arrived, we stopped for lunch and tucked into uštipci, traditional Bosnian savoury doughnuts, served with cheese and meat. We sat chatting with the locals for a while, which was one of my favourite parts of the day. There was something lovely about sitting there, surrounded by the mountains, eating simple traditional food and listening to people who have called this remote village home for generations.
We then wandered through the village, taking in the little details of everyday life. Bosnian ladies were sitting outside knitting traditional socks to sell, tending to their vegetable patches and chopping up herbs to sell. Nothing felt staged or put on for visitors. It was simply people getting on with their day, and we were lucky enough to have a little glimpse into it.
We walked on for a while, taking in the views across the mountains and down towards the dramatic canyon below. Everywhere we looked seemed to be another photograph waiting to be taken, but even the camera couldn’t quite capture how incredible it felt to actually be standing there.
Lukomir is one of those places that stays with you.
Maybe it was the journey to get there, the wild horses, the scenery, the food, the people or the feeling of being somewhere so remote and untouched. Whatever it was, there was just something about Lukomir.
Of everywhere we visited in Bosnia, it was truly my favourite.
