Bosnia and Herzegovina has four UNESCO sites and a density of attractions rarely found in so small a country. These ten places form the backbone of any first visit.
1. Sarajevo
The only European capital where a Catholic cathedral, an Orthodox church, a mosque and a synagogue stand in the same quarter. Baščaršija, the Sebilj, the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the Latin Bridge and the Tunnel of Hope museum.
2. Mostar and the Old Bridge
UNESCO since 2005. An arch of 1566, destroyed in 1993 and rebuilt in 2004. Dives from twenty-four metres, the Kujundžiluk bazaar and the minaret of the Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque for the best photograph.
3. Blagaj tekke
A sixteenth-century Sufi monastery beneath a two-hundred-metre cliff at the source of the Buna. Entry about six marks.
4. Kravica waterfalls
An amphitheatre a hundred metres wide and twenty-five high, with swimming allowed. Entry about ten marks; arrive before ten in the morning.
5. Jajce
A medieval capital with a twenty-metre waterfall in the centre of town, a fortress and a third-century Mithras temple.
6. Trebinje
The Ottoman south: the Arslanagić Bridge of 1574, the Hercegovačka Gračanica monastery and the vineyards of Popovo polje. Thirty minutes from Dubrovnik.
7. Počitelj
A fortified Ottoman village above the Neretva, free to enter. The Hadži Alija Mosque of 1563 and a tower with a panorama.
8. Sutjeska National Park
Perućica, one of the last primeval forests in Europe, the country's highest peak Maglić at 2386 metres and the heart-shaped Trnovačko lake. Hiking season June to September.
9. Višegrad and the bridge over the Drina
The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge of 1577, UNESCO since 2007, immortalised in Ivo Andrić's novel. Beside it stands Andrićgrad, a reconstruction built by Emir Kusturica.
10. Bihać and Una National Park
The eighteen-metre Štrbački buk, rafting on the Una from April to October and the fortress in Bihać.
A ten-day order
Three days in Sarajevo, one to cross to Jajce via Travnik, one for Bihać and the Una, two for Mostar with Blagaj, Kravica and Počitelj, one for Trebinje, then back to Sarajevo through Sutjeska.
Budget
Tickets for everything listed: fifty to eighty euros per person, since most sites cost three to eight. Three and four-star hotels run thirty to seventy euros a night and meals fifteen to thirty euros a day. For those staying longer: the Vjetrenica cave in Popovo polje, the largest in the country, and Konjic with Neretva rafting and Tito's D-0 bunker.