The area surrounding Mostar features a whole series of treasures of inestimable value. Just one hour drive, or slightly more, out of the city and you will discover villages and little towns which represent the history, culture and beauty of Herzegovina. All you have to do is to choose among the innumerable opportunities that are off ered around the city, to find yourself in places suspended in time, rich in memories and emotions still to be narrated.

The walled town of Blagaj and its antique Dervish monastery, the medieval Počitelj, a stone masterpiece so cherished by artists and poets, the antique Roman villa of Mogorjelo, the archaeological sites of Stolac and the mysterious necropolis of Radimlja, the fascinating small town of Trebinje and, last but not least, Međugorj where pilgrims gather from all over the world, these are just some of the many towns that perfectly represent the importance andvalue of these lands. History, culture, nature and spirituality intertwine in Herzegovina, infiltrating both its more famous places with its less known corners, unveiling unique experiences to its visitors, who will literally savour these lands in their absolute authenticity. Walking through these places, tasting typical specialities, talking to locals and listening to their tales, sharing with them their everyday lives even though for only a brief period of time: this is the way to get to know Herzegovina, beyond the limits of a straightforward holiday.

Medjugorje, 27 km from Mostar, has become one of the most popular pilgrim attractions in the Catholic world since 24th June 1981, when a group of teenagers witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary, near the village of Podbrdo, in that very place that was afterwards called the Hill of the Apparition.The “Miracle of Mary of Međugore” has radically transformed this small town into a sort of ‘global city’, constantly visited by Catholics arriving from all over the world. The busiest periods are around Easter (when the anniversary of the fi rst apparition is celebrated with a procession known as the ‘Walk of Peace’), the Day of the Assumption (15th August) and the Birth of the Virgin (first Sunday after 8th September). The Church of St. James, built in 1969, is a centre for various religious activities. Behind the building itself, there is a path that leads to the Resurrected Saviour, a statue from which constantly fl ow drops of blessed water. On the way leading to the Hill of the Apparition there are the 14 Stations of the Way of the Cross, where pilgrims stop in prayer. The Križevac Mount, at 2.5 km south-west of Međugorje, features a large stone cross that was erected in 1934. The whole area is full of hotels, restaurants and well-supplied souvenir shops, which welcome the crowds of religious followers and visitors all the year round. From Mostar, there are frequent daily coach services (Mostar Bus Company) leaving from the bus station (Autobusni kolodvor, in Vukovarska b.b.), going to Međugorje.The service does not run on Sundays.
Međugorje Tourist Office: tel. + 387 (0)36 651 011; www.hercegovina.ba; www.tel.net.ba/tzm-medjugorje;

Trebinje, one of the most fascinating Herzegovina towns, is a small urban centre in the southern corner of the country, at about 113 km from Mostar. It deve-loped under Byzantine infl uence, under the Ottoman Empire and during the Austrian-Hungarian epoch. Its historical centre lies on the banks of the Trebišnici River and was mentioned for the fi rst time in the 10th century by the Byzantine historian Konstantin Porfi rgenit. Some of the most important monuments are: the Monastery of Tvrdoši (15th century); the Arslanagić Bridge, built by the Ottomans in 1574 as a vital passage way for the commerce of salt; the Osman Paša Mosque (1726) and the New Orthodox Monastery, known as “Gračanica of Herzegovina” (it was built on the model of the Monastery of Gračanica in Kosovo), standing on the hill, south of the city. nside the Monastery lies the poet and diplomat Jovan Dučić.The tree-lined square Jovan Dučić is a meeting place for the people of Trebinje and, in the morning, it holds a very popular and lively market.From the Mostar coach station (Autobusni kolodvor, in Vukovarska b.b.) there are daily, direct buses to Trebinje.

Trebinje Tourist Office: Preobraženska b.b., 89101 Trebinje; tel. + 387 (0)59 273 120;
+ 387 (0)59 273 121; fax + 387 (0)59 273 122;
e-mail: tourist trebinje @yahoo.com; Web:www.herceg-tourism.com

At 40 km south of Mostar, stands the lovely museum-city of Stolac, a town of extremely antique origins (various remains point to a prehistoric settlement) and crossed by the Bregava River, a tributary of the Neretva River. Stolac is the Herzegovina town with the greatest number of archaeological sites and historical-cultural monuments. It was conquered by the Turks in 1466 and this explains its Ottoman architecture. Amongst the most important buildings which survived the damage of the 1990’s war, mention goes to: the bridges Inat Ćuprija, Podgradska Ćuprija and Begovska Ćuprija, of the 15th and 19th centuries, and the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul of the 16th century.The historical heart of Stolac is represented by the medieval city of Vidoški grad (15th century ), while the Illyrian town Daorson, situated nearby and founded in the 3rd century B.C., is the archaeological area whose walls are a marvel to be admired by tourists.The Radimlja Necropolis, 2 km from Stolac, soars as one of the most fascinating and mysterious places of this area: here you can see dozens of “stećci”, tombstones of the ancient Bogomils, dating back to the 14th-16th centuries. Some are decorated with paintings and symbolic stone bas-reliefs, depicting hunting scenes, stylised men on horses, weapons and so on.

This necropolis is considered to be one of the most important of the country for its dimensions and for the value of its many ‘stećci’. Moreover, near Stolac, lovers of Ottoman architecture can visit the Mosque of the Sultan Selim (the Mosque of the Tsar, 16th century) and the Mosques of Uzunovići and of Ćuprija (18th century). The complex of residential oriental architecture called Begovina is also of great interest (19th century). Daily coaches (Bregava Trans) connect Mostar to Stolac and Radimlja.