Bosnia and Herzegovina · Herzegovina · Premium route guide
Neretva Canyon and Sutjeska
The Neretva canyon, Mostar and the Sutjeska forests in one big Bosnian loop.
A hard two to three day loop from Sarajevo down the Neretva canyon to Mostar and Trebinje, then north through Gacko and the Sutjeska National Park. Built from our own track on M17 and established paved roads.
- Distance
- 456.7 km
- Peak elevation
- 1,309 m
- Elevation gain
- 5,189 m
- Best months
- May–Oct
- Bosnia and Herzegovina · Herzegovina · Sarajevo
- Loop
- 100% paved
The route
A loop from Sarajevo on the old M17 via Hadzici and Ivan Sedlo to Konjic, down the Neretva canyon to Jablanica and Mostar, to Blagaj, south to Trebinje, north over the Cemerno pass via Gacko to Tjentiste in the Sutjeska National Park, then Foca and back to Sarajevo.
2 verified stays within 30 km of the route. Click a stay pin to see details. Know one that should be here?
Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~33 m at the base to 1,309 m at the top, 5,189 m of total climbing across the route.
Our track is 457 km with about 5,189 m of climbing, about 13 hours of riding. You asked for about 500 to 600 km. Through these waypoints the real loop is 457 km. Plan two to three days.
Why ride it
The emerald Neretva canyon, the old bridge in Mostar, the Buna spring at Blagaj, Trebinje's plane trees and the primeval forest of Sutjeska under Maglic, with very little traffic in the east.
Hazards
Trucks and tunnels on the M17, unlit tunnels, livestock and rockfall in the mountains, and wet polished tarmac in towns.
Fuel
Fuel in Sarajevo, Konjic, Jablanica, Mostar, Trebinje, Gacko and Foca. It is thin between Gacko and Foca.
Best months and difficulty
May to October. Difficulty: hard.
What to see along the way
- Sarajevo - Start and finish.
- Konjic - Old bridge and the start of the Neretva valley.
- Jablanica - Bridge on the Neretva and lamb on the spit.
- Mostar - The Old Bridge.
- Blagaj - Dervish house at the Buna spring.
- Trebinje - Old town on the Trebisnjica.
- Cemerno pass - Highest point of the loop.
- Tjentiste - Sutjeska National Park memorial and forest.
- Foca - Fuel on the Drina.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Neretva Canyon and Sutjeska
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Sarajevo / Mostar - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route, no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
Ridden this road and stayed somewhere great?
This whole directory grows one rider recommendation at a time. Add a stay and it will appear on this guide automatically if it is within 30 km of the route.
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