Mount Trebević: A Summit in Sarajevo

Adventures can be found in any city.  I have shared bits and pieces of my heritage on the blog and social interwebs.  If you follow along on Instagram, I am sure you saw that my recent two-week vacation included some sweats with a view.  I owe my favorite one to my husband.  He wanted to find a unique activity for us during our time in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Unlike the PNW, there is not a huge trails association in Bosnia.  You can imagine my surprise when he suggested we change our plans for a ride on the new cable car in Sarajevo to a hike to the top of Trebević Mountain.

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He found a few blogs through a quick google search that supplied limited information on hikes, including this one.  The blog posts were fairly new and did not give the clearest directions on how to find the trail, but we took some screenshots before departing the safety of wifi!  We drove to the Pino Nature Hotel, which is where the cable car ends its journey from Stari Grad (Old Town) Sarajevo, and spent a couple of hours exploring the old bobsled track that remains from the 1984 Winter Olympics.  If you are in Sarajevo on Holiday, I would highly recommend walking through the track.  It has deteriorated and is riddled with graffiti, but there is something stunning about the way it is shaped by the mountainous landscape. ​

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​After exploring the bobsled track remains, we decided to continue on with our planned hike.  I will admit that we were a little confused by the prior blog directions and drove up to a second lodge that sits above the new Pino Hotel.  We parked our car and argued about where the trail markers could be.  We knew from a video that the trail should be marked by paint on the trees—a white circle with a red outline.  Andy found a trail, but it was for one of the smaller, side hiking trails leading to the “Planinarski Dom.”  We saw the appropriate markings and a screenshot of the trail map that I took by the Hotel confirmed that the side hiking trail would link up with the main trail.  We were warmly greeted by a stray dog, who was unexpectedly friendly and decided to join us for the adventure.  Meet “Smoki”, who I named after a nostalgic Bosnian snack of peanut flavored puffs that kids enjoy.

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​Andy, Smoki, and I set out on our adventure expecting the hike to take about 3 hours round trip based on previous reports.  We had water, pretzels, dried apricots, and cashews in our pack and turned on Map My Run to log the hike.  It had been raining in Sarajevo for the past few days, but our Seattle souls weren’t going to a let a little sprinkle stop us.  UNTIL WE GOT LOST.  Or disoriented might be a better description?  The side hiking trail linked us up to a gravel road, but without wifi or google maps, it was difficult to discern which way to go.  We looked at our screen shots and the satellite signal we were getting on our phones, and tried to sort out which way to go.  Unfortunately, due to the recent rain the trail was muddy and turned into a slip and slide for Andy and I in our Nikes.  Smoki did just fine.  We eventually stumbled across the real, main route after a minor panic attack by me.  For those of you that aren’t aware, the mountains surrounding Sarajevo is where numerous snipers and ammunition resided during the war.  There were also mines planted throughout the mountains and for years I was warned about this.  It was a little paralyzing, but my husband calmed me down with some logic and promised me we would stick to the trail and not off road it anymore.  Continuing on despite this mental obstacle and our limited knowledge was the first summit of the day.

Once you are on the main trail, it is clearly marked and a steady climb with a 1079 meter elevation gain including some switchbacks to the top of Trebević Peak (sits at 1629 meters).  The three of us did not encounter any other hikers and only crossed paths with a lone mountain biker.  There was something therapeutic about hiking in my hometown, on an unknown trail, with no other souls.  We entertained ourselves by teaching Andy more Bosnian (he can now proudly count to 10).  When we got to the top we found a bulletin that shared details of the trail, including that the beginning of the work and end occurred in October and November of 2017, respectively.  It was new! No wonder my family wasn’t aware of the trail and it was impossible to find blog posts or much info out there.  The bulletin shared additional information, including the total length of the trail which is listed as 10 km roundtrip (6.2 miles).  The total hike distance we tracked ended up being just about 7 miles and took under 3 hours round trip!

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Andy and I enjoyed the views of stunning Sarajevo and Bosnia at the summit and shared our hiking snacks with Smoki, who was loyal to us throughout the whole adventure.  We saw other towns in the distance, mountain peaks for kilmeters on end, and below us a sheep herder with his flock.  I felt a different type of pride in accomplishing this peak with Andy.  It was not the most challenging hike we have done together nor was it the most breathtaking view (Mount Rainier and Vesper still take the cake), but it was the most meaningful.  In a way my two worlds collided –the little girl who was born in Sarajevo and returned to see her country and family and the younger woman I am today who loves chasing summits.

I wanted to make this hike simpler for anyone who chooses to visit Sarajevo and take a chance on adventure.  Drive up to the Pino Nature Hotel and park in their lot.  To the right of the café/restaurant you will see a children’s playground.  Walk past that and you will see the trail markers for Vrh Trebevića (Trebević Peak).  Follow the marked, painted trees that will take you to your destination.  If it’s been raining, I would recommend hiking shoes in place of tennies, although it is doable albeit dirty.  This trail is year-round and can be used for mountaineering in the winter.  After you accomplish your summit, enjoy a treat at the Hotel.  Word to the wise, it is a “dry” hotel so no alcohol on site.  Hoping for more trails to conquer on future travels back to Bosnia.

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