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krisek Jajce - A travel report by Krys
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Jajce,  Bosnia - Herzegovina - flag Bosnia - Herzegovina
16304 readers

krisek's travel reports

Medieval with a huge fortress & lovely waterfall.

  6 votes
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It paid for billboards stating that it was on a waiting list to become a UNESCO-inscribed world heritage site. It does have a great potential indeed but much of the old town requires significant renovation! But the waterfall is really great.


Jajce old town with the fortress on the hill.
Jajce old town with the fortress on the hill.
The old town and the fortress loomed in the distance. Pretty and dominating. The waterfall below, considered amongst the 10 loveliest waterfalls in the world, thundered and created a cloud of mist above it. The ambiance of the place was obvious - a little, Medieval town in the mountains. The air, fresh and cool, complemented the scene. I was so glad I decided to stick to my plan and survived the five hour-long ride. In addition to all that, it seemed that Jajce did not suffer from the shortage of bars and clubs. Typical mountainous feel indeed, where time moved slowly and people knew how to party.

At a closer inspection, the place did show many scars of war. Some buildings, badly ruined, would need to be taken down completely. Others had facades ripped with bullet holes. Much still needed to be done to restore the old town to its former glory. And UNESCO should make their mind quick, as Jajce remains on the tentative list, because, if any of the old houses were to be reconstructed, and some would need to be, then it would be better it was happening according to the UNESCO World Heritage rules. I noticed by the way that young Bosnians 'young at heart' tended to venture to the ramparts and old fortress walls for great views, cuddling and kissing.

Favourite spots:
The waterfall seen from the path leading to the main coach station.
The waterfall seen from the path leading to the main coach station.
The waterfall was my favourite feature of Jajce indeed. I did not appear to have come in the right time, though. At the bottom of the waterfall, some structure was either being taken down or being put up. Cranes kept obstructing some of the better views. Anyway, Jajce had a great little park leading to the edge of the waterfall, full of well planted trees providing plenty of shade and benches for relaxing. The park was well sculpted, positioned just below the hill leading to the fortress, and one of its paths led right to the spot, where water dropped off the cliff.

One of the better views of the waterfall and the old town was from the other side of the valley. But one would need a guide to reach the observation point as the walking path led through a wooded area and the risk of landmines in Bosnia was still great, when I visited.

What's really great:
Banja Luka Gate and little houses on their last legs on the other side.
Banja Luka Gate and little houses on their last legs on the other side.
I think one of Jajce's best qualities was its atmosphere and the lack of ... tourists. I was the only tourist in Jajce, it seemed and that's what many locals told me. And I was definitely one of very few ever foreign tourists, who travelled to Jajce on public transport! The town felt like being so far off the beaten track that it gave a sense of a true discovery. And as it had this superb medieval feel and old, crumbling architecture, it did seem mysterious and surprising. Even as I was departing from Croatia, locals there kept grimmacing and raised their eyebrows asking 'why are you going there?'. But Jajce was definitely worth the trip.

Sights:
Main entry to the fortress on the top of the hill.
Main entry to the fortress on the top of the hill.
The historical centre of Jajce seemed very small, and could be visited in few hours. All on foot of course. But it did have a fair list of interesting spots and sights, which were worth looking for and pausing for a minute and examine them more closely. The more prominent sights included: the Franciscan Monastery, the Banja Luka Gate, the Esme Sultanje Mosque, the Underground church, the St Lucas Belfry, and the Omer-bey's House. Not all of them were clearly marked, so trying to navigate the narrow and steep alleys, was exciting. At the bottom of the old town's hill there was a sign pointing visitors to direction where those spots could be found.

Accommodations:
The lobby bar of the Stari Grad Hotel, glass floor revealing old foundations.
The lobby bar of the Stari Grad Hotel, glass floor revealing old foundations.
From a couple of options, which showed on the Internet I picked The Stari Grad Hotel, at the bottom of the old town, close to all the bars and clubs. It was a modern hotel with friendly staff, who spoke some English. My single room (#103) with a large double bed was small but it was megaclean. It had a desk packed into it, a TV, a small fridge, and the bathroom was sweet! Modern shower cabin was planted there, the tiles on the floor and on the walls were squeaky clean and the entire room was scented. The towels were snow white and crisp!

The hotel was based inside the old town, between the two old gates still standing withing the old walls. It was close to the nightlife action, banks with the ATMs, and a couple of mosques. The waterfall was just two minutes away.

Nightlife:
Dado Glisic playing at the City Bar.
Dado Glisic playing at the City Bar.
Came 8pm and the streets of Jajce's old town converted into catwalks. The ladies donned their finest outfits showing as much cleavage as possible, high heels, and bright lipsticks. And lads put on funky jeans pants, very tight t-shirts or strechy shirts, whichever revealed their six-packs underneath.

Cafe Piramida, Caffe Skela, Caffe Bar Rally, Caffe Bar Merci (with cool rock formations inside its cave interior), City Bar, were popular from the early hours, but as the night developed, more venues filled up. I noticed that the music did not stop while the Mullah called for the last prayer. This was so unlike any other country with Muslim religion as one of the prominent ones. But also showed that, despite Ramadan, the Bosnians knew that there were also believers of other religions and they should be allowed to party.

I spent some time at the City bar (beer BAM2). It had very good live music. A local chap called Dado Glisic, with synth keyboard singing Bosnian rock and pop hits.

Hangouts:
St Lucas Belfry, now belonging to a completely ruined church.
St Lucas Belfry, now belonging to a completely ruined church.
The locals were hiding in the bastions of the fortress's walls. They used the rarely visited ramparts, and dents in the walls, as well as the disused gateways and armoury huts so they could hold hands, cuddle and kiss away from the public view. They were rather shocked seeing me with my big and sexy camera invading their privacy.

The other obvious hang out place in Jajce was the waterfall park and the viewing platforms on the other side of the river (near the local bus station), which offered great views of the waterfall and the hill with the fortress on top. The park had a few benches and one side of it was fringed with a number of cafes, restaurants and clubs.

Restaurants:
Mixed grill at the Pizzeria Megi Dea
Mixed grill at the Pizzeria Megi Dea
Before hitting the night action, I knew I ought to eat something. So, I dropped into the Pizzeria Megi Dea, but instead of pizza I selected a mix of grilled meats for BAM11 (£5, €5.50), and ordered a half litre bottle of lager for BAM2.50. They had wooden tables and iron wrought armchairs with cushions under large canopy parasols. The place seemed popular with local blokes, who dug into burgers, pjeskavicas (flattened meat chops) and sausages served wih chips and obligatory washed down with lager. The waiter did not speak any English, but he spoke German, and for a globetrotter like me German worked as well, keine Problem.

Other recommendations:
The view of the old Jajce with the fortress on the hill and a couple of houses in traditional style.
The view of the old Jajce with the fortress on the hill and a couple of houses in traditional style.
The surroundings of Jajce were superb. Yet, the risk of landmines was still very great in Bosnia, and visitors should be very careful not to step outside the indicated walking or trekking paths. Guides were not readily available in Jajce, but hiking trips could be organised if booked in advance. One of the travel offices and agents (the Jajce Tours) were based at the Stari Grad hotel, and they accepted credit card payments.

The coaches to and from Jajce were not very frequent or comfortable. Sarajevo was connected with only four coaches a day, three in the morning and one in the afternoon. Most of them started their journeys elsewhere, so when they rolled into Jajce's bus station, they were already full. The drivers did not care and neither did the passengers inside, so the buses accepted much too many passengers than the manufacturers of the vehicles could have ever imagined could fit inside.

Published on Friday December 31th, 2010


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Tue, Feb 01 2011 - 02:45 PM rating by bootlegga

Sounds like an interesting place!

Wed, Jan 05 2011 - 04:43 PM rating by jorgesanchez

Thanks for discovering us that lovely place.

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