The day starts in Foča. We load into a 4WD vehicle and head into the heart of Sutjeska National Park, one of the last truly untouched wilderness areas in Europe. After an hour and a half of mountain driving, we reach Prijevor, the trailhead sitting at the edge of Perućica primeval forest.
From here, we hike. Five kilometres of mountain trail lead to Trnovačko Lake, a glacial lake at 1,517 metres above sea level, resting beneath Maglić the highest peak in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trail is steady rather than steep, and what waits at the top makes every step worthwhile.
Trnovačko Lake is one of those places that doesn't look real. The water is green and clear to the bottom, surrounded by mountain ridges, with no sound except wind and water. We take our time here a walk around the lake, a swim for those who dare, rest on the shore, and a stop at the viewpoint with a full panorama of the surrounding peaks.
Twenty minutes from the lake, the mountain huts appear. Shepherds who spend their summers on the mountain welcome us with what they made that morning — fresh kajmak, homemade cheese, milk straight from the cow. Lunch is slow and warm. If you're curious, you'll watch the kajmak being made a process unchanged for centuries.
On the way back, the final stop is the Perućica primeval forest viewpoint. From here you see Skakavac waterfall and the vast canopy spreading below one of only two remaining primeval forests in all of Europe, where trees grow, fall and decay without a single human hand ever touching them. The UNESCO protection here is not a formality. This is living history.
We return to Foča in the late afternoon. Around ten hours in the mountains, and a feeling that you've been somewhere much further away than that.