Jajce and the Pliva Watermills

Jajce is a medieval hill town in the Central Bosnia Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina, roughly 140-165 km north-west of Sarajevo. The trip takes about 2.5-3 hours by car through Travnik or 3-4 hours by bus, which makes it a long day, particularly as the last return bus leaves Jajce around 17:30 and a return ticket costs about 37 KM. The town is famous for the 17 metre Pliva Waterfall, where the Pliva river drops directly into the Vrbas in the middle of town; a viewing platform costs about 4 KM, and a path leads to the base. Above the waterfall, the Jajce Fortress and old town walls stand on a hill, with the Catacombs, the Church of St Mary and its bell tower, and the Sultan's Gate within the old quarter. The Catacombs and the Mithraic temple remnant are among the historic points of interest. About 10 km upstream, the Pliva Lakes and the Pliva watermills, small wooden mills built on the water in the 20th century and still standing in a cluster, are a popular stop and a photograph favourite. A straightforward plan is to leave Sarajevo at about 07:00, stop in Travnik for coffee on the way, arrive in Jajce by 10:00, climb the fortress and walk the old gate area, visit the waterfall platform before lunch, then drive to the watermills in the afternoon and start back by 15:30 to arrive in Sarajevo before dark. Grilled trout and local ćevapi are common lunch dishes. An organised tour combining Travnik, Jajce and the watermills costs from about EUR 50-70 and removes the bus timing problem. May to October gives the best conditions, with full water in the falls in spring and stable weather in summer.