Maglic

Tags: Bosnia, Country High Points, Europe, Hiking, Latest, Mountains

Maglic (2386m) is the highest mountain in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We chose the direct approach from north, a fairly short climb which was ideal to test out Lars' performance after his severe stomach bug from the day before.

It was a long and scenic drive from Vusanje in Montenegro, via Serbia and into Bosnia. Eventually we found the small road from Tjentiste in Bosnia that winds 15 km up the hills to the trailhead of Maglic. This road is even doable by a normal car if you take it nicely, but don't forget to bring a spare tyre kit in case of puncture (a high risk this will happen!). The trailhead is located at a small pass (elevation 1650m), and there was plenty of space to park our car.

It was an easy walk to the foot of the north-east face. Then we started on the steep face, which has steel cables for aid and protection. A helmet would be nice to have here, but we were completely alone on the route, hence not so much risk of falling rocks compared to a busy summer day.

We finally reached the summit ridge and from there it was straightforward walking to the top, except from the last part which required some easy scrambling. We did the summit in a very fast pace (1.5 hours) and I was really surprised how quickly Lars had recovered from a stomach bug yesterday, which had turned our Zla Kolata climb in Montenegro into such a misery for him.

We took some photos on the summit of Maglic, next to the old Yugoslav flag. Then we returned the same route and we were back in the car only 3 hours after we had set out. We had covered a total distance of 9.4 km, by all means a short day.

It was a long and tedious drive out of Bosnia, especially because of the rain and nightfall. Eventually we crossed the border to Croatia, where we found a roadside hotel in Metkovic. We seemed to be the only guests in this hotel, and later we ate food in a restaurant that we also had all to ourselves. During the night Lars vomited again and I think he was glad that we only had one mountain left on this Balkan marathon trip, Dinara in Croatia the next day.

Maglic at EveryTrail

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