Una National Park.

Nacionalni park Una - treasure of Bosnia and Herzegovina

National Park (NP) Una (Bosnian: Nacionalni park Una) is located in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Most of it lies in the Una-Sana Canton of the BiH Federation, but a small piece also ended up in the Canton 10.

The park includes the headwaters of the Una River, as well as the Unac and Krka Rivers and the area adjacent to them. In total, it has 19,800 hectares, of which 13.5 thousand hectares are under a strict protection regime.

Currently, NP Una is visited by about 100,000 people annually. Among them are both residents of the country and tourists from abroad.

Park attractions

The central place in the national park is occupied by water. People come here to enjoy the bright color of the purest rivers and mirror reflections in their waters, drive through the canyon, look at the seething water on the rapids and the spectacular fall of the rivers from the cliffs.

The main natural attractions of the Una National Park are a complex of several rapids and waterfalls at Martin brod, as well as the majestic waterfall Štrbački buk, located at the very border with Croatia.

Recently, they have also been trying to popularize the Dvoslap and Troslap rapids in the northern part of the park.

As for the cultural and historical heritage, there are several ruins of medieval fortresses on the territory of the national park: Orašac, Rmanj, Havala, Klišević tower. In the best condition today is the Old Town of Ostrovica, located near the village of Kulen Vakuf.

The most important Christian site is the Rmanj Monastery (Bosnian: Manastir Rmanj), which has a long and eventful history.

Infrastructure and entertainment

In Una National Park, you can ride a bike and, of course, walk. There are marked routes leading to the ruins of fortresses and mountain peaks.

Some points can be reached by car. True, a significant part of the roads inside the park today is not paved.

On the river, if you wish, you can go kayaking or take part in a rafting tour. Rafting at the Štrbački buk waterfall is considered the coolest. Needless to say, even from the outside, such entertainment looks impressive.

Kayaking, rafting or scuba diving tours are usually organized by specialized travel agencies. Most of them are at the sixth entrance to the park, in Lohovo. However, if suddenly you are traveling with your equipment, keep in mind that you still have to pay at the entrance. The cost of the permit will depend on the chosen section of the river.

Another entertainment available for tourists in Una National Park is fishing. Today I will not dwell on it, a separate post will be devoted to fishing (see it at this link).

Near the national park and on its territory there are several villages. The largest settlement inside the national park is Kulen Vakuf.

The nearest major city near the park is Bihać. Local buses run daily from it to Kulen Vakuf (6 departures a day on weekdays, only 3 flights on Saturday, 2 on Sunday).

In some settlements of NP Una, housing is rented out, and campsites are equipped in almost every one.

Near the most visited points of the park there are restaurants.

Even a budget tourist can afford a cup of coffee in them.

Here, for example, is a menu from a cafe-restaurant operating in the most popular location of the park - at the Štrbački buk waterfall.

Throughout the territory, the administration of the national park has created special places for recreation.  Somewhere they are just benches, but somewhere there are picnic areas - benches with tables under the roof.

Of course, they are free to use.

If these are locations near the road, then there is always a parking lot nearby.

Car parking areas are also allocated near the sights and at the entrances to the national park.

Visitors are not charged for using them.

Visiting Una National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Opening hours of NP UNA

• 1.11 - 28/29.02 - from 10:00 to 15:00;

• the whole of March - from 10:00 to 16:00;

• 1.04 - 31.05 - from 9:00 to 18:00;

• 01.06 - 31.08 - from 9:00 to 20:00;

• in September - from 9:00 to 19:00;

• 1 - 15.10 - from 9:00 to 18:00;

• 15 - 31.10 - from 9:00 to 17:00.

In winter, in case of heavy snowfall, the area of Štrbački buk-Lohovo is closed to the public.

Prices

(for 2022)

The Štrbački buk waterfall:

• adult ticket - 7 KM;

• children 7-14 years old - 5 KM.

Martin brod (Milančev buk waterfall):

• adult ticket - 3 KM;

• children 7-14 years old - 2.5 KM.

Dvoslap and Troslap:

• adult ticket - 2 KM;

• children 7-14 years old - 1.5 KM.

To find out the approximate price in euros - divide the amount by 2.

Children under 7 years old can enter all areas of the national park for free.

Purchased tickets are valid for one day.

There is no charge for visiting other parts of the park.

When purchasing tickets, you can also purchase postcards, a national park map and logo stickers. These items cost 1 convertible mark each.

All toilets in the national park are free of charge, except for two toilets near Štrbački buk. In the season, they take 1 KM from the visitor.

Prices for rafting in agencies start from 45-50 KM per person.

Entrances to the park

There are 5 entrances to NP Una today:

No. 1. Gorjevac

Located near the M-5 road, 19 kilometers from the center of Bihać .

From it, through the village of Doljani you can get to the Štrbački buk.

The route to the waterfall has a length of 14 km. It is possible to overcome them on foot, by bicycle or by car. But be warned, this is not a very good macadam, which is not suitable for wide and low cars, cars with low profile tires and aluminum rims. The maximum speed of movement is also set here - 30 km / h, but even if you have an SUV, you would hardly be able to go much faster.

On the third kilometer of the road, the hiking route starts to the Veliki Ljutoč and Mali Ljutoč points, as well as the Sokolovača view point.

At the fourth kilometer, you can turn onto an 8-kilometer hiking and cycling trail to the top of Ljutoč, which has a height of 1168 meters above sea level.

At the 7th kilometer there is a turnoff to the path leading to the entrance number 6 and the Dvoslap and Troslap locations.

No. 2. Ćukovi

Entrance at the village of the same name, near the local road R408.

Intended for pedestrians and cyclists only.

It leads deep into the park. From here it will be possible to reach Štrbački buk, and to Martin brod, and to Kulen Vakuf.

It is here that the thematic route "Ways of the Past" begins. Those who decide to follow this path are waiting for the ruins of the Klišević tower, 11 signs with information about the cultural heritage of the park, and several equipped places for recreation.

The trail is fully marked, belongs to the category of simple. The total length of the route is 4.5 km, it ends at the Štrbački buk waterfall.

No. 3. Ćelije

It is located near the village of Ćelije, on the road leading from the village of Orašac to the Štrbački buk .

This is the most popular entrance, since it is through it that it is easiest and fastest to get to the main attraction of the national park.

In total, choosing this route, you will have to walk or drive 7.5 km of macadam, but it is much better than at the first entrance to the park.

True, in many media the road is still described as terrible, but according to subjective feelings, everything turned out to be not scary. Yes, you won’t drive fast here, and it’s better to close the windows in the car, since there is a lot of dust flying from the road, but there are no holes or large stones, but along the way there are often locations for passing or overtaking.

To be honest, my husband and I, after a trip to Prokoško Lake, now compare everything with the path to it. And compared to the road to Prokoško Lake, the route from Ćelije to Štrbački buk is quite normal.

No. 5. Martin Brod

Entrance in front of the group of waterfalls of the same name.

The payment point is located near the Big or Milančev buk - the largest and most beautiful waterfall among those that include Martin brod.

Near the waterfall you can see the bučnica - an analogue of a washing machine. The old device not only survived externally, but also works great and copes with its task to this day. If you are lucky, you will even be able to see the process of washing a carpet or a blanket in bučnica, as one of the locals still launders things for a small fee in this eco-friendly way. When washing, no additional tools or cleaning compounds are used, only the power of water.

Not far from the fifth entrance is also the Rmanj monastery and the ruins of the fortress of the same name, from which, in truth, only one tower remained, and even that is not in the best condition.

No. 6. Lohovo

The closest entrance to Bihać, it is only 14 km from the city center.

There is a center for rafting tours, kayak and bicycle rentals. There is also a souvenir shop, restaurants, apartments.

From this entrance starts a forest trail with a length of about 2 km, passing through Dvoslap and Troslap.

Entrance no. 4, Račić, is currently closed.

Basic rules of the National park

On the territory of the Una National Park it is prohibited:

- take photographs for commercial purposes without the permission of the park administration;

- shouting loudly or listening to music;

- walk dogs (of any size) without a leash;

- destroy mushrooms. It is also forbidden to collect them without the permission of the caretaker;

- disturb and feed wild animals;

- dive into the water from waterfalls and rapids;

- walk on travertine barriers;

- climb on the wooden railings of the paths;

- walk outside the marked walking and cycling routes.

I note that the question here is not only not to get lost or to minimize the chance of meeting dangerous animals -  keep in mind that a small part of the park outside the zones marked for tourists is mined!

Also note that swimming, camping and making fire is allowed only in specially designated areas.

Hunting is prohibited throughout the Una National Park.

In addition, the list also contains such rules that, it seems, are embarrassing to list, because this is from the category of the obvious:

- throwing out garbage, including cigarette butts, is possible only in specially designated places;

- do not damage benches, tables, fences, information boards, tourist signs and other equipment of the park;

- it is forbidden to damage plants and trees, destroy bird nests and take eggs from there.

For violation of the rules of the national park, fines from 20 to 1500 KM are provided.