Visiting Blagaj has been on my bucket list for years. It's one of the best-known landmarks in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I based myself in Mostar for two nights and spent a full day exploring the gorgeous region around Mostar, including a stop to Blagaj. It is a wonderful feeling to make your dreams come true and to stand in places you have dreamed about!
On our tour, we visited the beautiful village of Počitelj, swam in Kravica Waterfall, explored an abandoned Yugoslav bunker and enjoyed the view over Mostar from the new Skywalk.
How to Get to Blagaj
I visited Blagaj as part of a group tour through my hostel in Mostar, Hostel Nina. Almost every single hostel I looked at in Mostar offered a similar sort of tour. If you're staying elsewhere, this was a tour with Get Your Guide which I also looked at that goes to most of the same spots as my tour did.
Otherwise, it's just a 20-minute drive if you have your own car. Alternatively, you can also take a public bus to Blagaj from Mostar which takes just half an hour.
Things to See at Blagaj
Most famously of all, visitors flock to Blagaj to spot Blagaj Tekke nestled right against the cliff overlooking the Buna River. While settlers have been in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina since the 3rd century including the Illyrians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Slavs and, in the 15th century, when the Ottomans arrived, was when a town was built in Blagaj including mosques, houses, lodges and bridges.
The Blagaj Tekke is a Sufi Dervish lodge, a religious spot, including a guesthouse, where Sufi Dervish come to pray. It is still used for that purpose today, attracting Dervish pilgrims, but anyone can also visit inside as it is now also a museum.
Vrelo Bune or Buna River is the crystal clear blue river running alongisde Tekke. It is so clear that you can drink the water straight from the source, as it is fed by the one of the largest springs by volume in all of Europe.
You can eat at one of the many riverside restaurants here, too.
