Lukomir
If there is a place where the sky touches the landscape and where the medieval traditional way of life of the Dinaric highlanders is still present, then it is certainly Lukomir.
The village of Lukomir is situated along the southern ridge of Bjelašnica and, at 1,495 m, it’s the highest inhabited settlement in BiH and the only one above 1,300 m. The village lies within Konjic Municipality and it can be reached from either Konjic (ca 30 km) or Sarajevo (45 km).
Lukomir is like a living ethnological museum, where the customs of nomadic tribes and Dinaric highlanders are still practiced. It’s an important part of BiH’s historical, cultural and architectural legacy and provides a unique “heritage atmosphere”. Also, the stećci scattered about the village indicate that it was already inhabited by the 14th and 15th centuries.
The village is unique for stone houses that are covered in oak, fir and beech shingles. The homes have a place for a fire in the center and the stone walls have small windows. The residents built homes that were suitable to the special terrain and inhospitable mountain climate.
For a few years now, the residents have been living here on a seasonal basis. From May to October the villagers work the land and tend their flocks, but they leave Lukomir during the winter because the meter-high snowfalls make it inaccessible.
A vantage point above the village provides a view of the Visočica Mountain chain, which drops 800 m to meet Rakitnica Canyon, the deepest canyon in Europe after Tara River Canyon.
Lukomir is now a top rural tourism destination.
There are a few places where visitors can enjoy some hospitality and traditional specialties and they can also buy items made by the hard-working villagers as mementos of time spent in Bosnia’s last village.