Jajce Waterfalls & Travnik Tour

Travnik, the City of Viziers

For almost 150 years, from 1699 to 1850, Travnik was the seat of the Ottoman viziers who governed Bosnia, and foreign consuls lived here too. The town still shows that past in its old mosques, its covered fountains and the Sulejmanija or Many-Coloured Mosque, whose painted façade gives it its name. Travnik is also the birthplace of Ivo Andrić, winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Above the town, Travnik Fortress, built in the 15th century, looks over the Lašva valley; its entry is included on the recommended option. Near the Plava Voda spring, where clear water runs beside small cafés, you can pause for a Bosnian coffee. Travnik makes a relaxed first stop on the road from Sarajevo, about 90 minutes away.

Jajce Fortress, Old Town and the Catacombs

Jajce was the last royal seat of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, and its walled old town climbs a rocky hill crowned by the fortress where King Stjepan Tomašević was captured by the Ottomans in 1463. The walls, gates and bell tower of Saint Luke still give Jajce a storybook look, and the view from the ramparts takes in the whole valley.

Below the fortress are the Catacombs, an underground church carved into the rock in the late 14th century for the powerful Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, with a cross, sun and moon cut into the stone. Jajce is also where the partisans' AVNOJ council met in 1943. Entry to the fortress and Catacombs is included on the recommended option.

The Pliva Waterfall in Jajce

Jajce is one of the few towns in the world with a waterfall in its centre. Where the Pliva river meets the Vrbas, it drops about 22 metres over a travertine cliff in a thick white curtain of water. A walkway and viewing platform lead down to the foot of the falls, where the spray and the roar are best felt.

The waterfall is most powerful in spring, when the snow melts in the mountains, but it is beautiful all year and often frozen at the edges in winter. The Jajce Waterfall ticket is included on the recommended option. For the classic photo of the Jajce waterfalls, walk to the viewpoint across the river, with the old town rising behind.

Pliva Lake and the Watermills

A few kilometres upstream lie the Great and Small Pliva lakes, a calm stretch of clear water ringed by forests and popular for rowing and walks along wooden paths. Between the two lakes stand the Mlinčići, around twenty small wooden watermills built on stilts over the rapids, once used by local families to grind grain.

The watermills are a protected monument and one of the most photographed scenes in Bosnia, especially in autumn colours or morning mist. Time here is relaxed, with a walk along the water and a chance to rest before the drive back. Many travellers say the Pliva lakes are the most peaceful part of this Jajce and Travnik tour.