On the southern slopes of the Čvrsnica mountain lies a jewel of nature, the Drežanka River Canyon. Located between Čvrsnica and Čabulja, this canyon is a sight that can rival the most beautiful landscapes in Europe. Right above this canyon, at an altitude of about 1,360 meters above sea level, is the ‘Javorak’ Mountaineering House.
Members of the ‘Visočica’ Mountaineering Association from Sarajevo ‘discovered’ this location, starting from Gornja Drežanka, in the hamlet of Rajići. At the very beginning of the trail, their gaze fell on Veliki Movran, a waterfall 584 meters high, making it the highest waterfall in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hidden in the rock, it only appears when nature so chooses.
Members of the expedition, Mirza Humić and Alma Halilović, say that the climb to Javorak begins with a wide cattle road, which winds under the slopes of Čvrsnica, while Čabulja quietly remains behind them.
“Ahead of us is 1,110 meters of difference in height, to the goal. The first part of the road led through the shade of a dense forest. It was a blessing for the feet, because soon after we stepped into a sipar (unbound piles of stones). As the guides announced to us, the forest is gradually receding, it is replaced by a steep and rocky terrain, which should be crossed carefully,” Humić and Halilović summarize their impressions in an interview with Fena.
At a height of about 1,360 meters, hidden among pines and karst, they were greeted by the Mountain House ‘Javorak’, the result of the hard work and love of a group of about thirty citizens from Drežnica. The house has two floors and enough beds for a group of hikers. Near that house there is also a source of drinking water, from that very place it is possible to go deep into the interior of Čvrsnica, to discover the still wild parts of our country.
Once upon a time, in not so long ago, animal husbandry was the mainstay of life in those areas. People took their cattle high up to the mountain pastures, where they stayed in modest huts in the summer. Humić and Halilović say that the traces of that time are still present today – dry walls, foundations, cisterns and remains of stone shelters testify that our ancestors lived in a much closer relationship with nature.
“In the same way, the Javorak glade, located between Omojnica and Čelinska glava, was once a herder’s settlement. The trail that mountaineers climb today was once an old cattle trail. Today, mountaineers and other nature lovers maintain that bond with nature,” they point out.
That part of Čvrsnica, also known as Mala Čvrsnica, is still rarely visited. The distance from the main ridge and peaks, such as Vilinac, has meant that few visit it. And yet, those who step that way find a part of the mountain that still resists the steps and remains almost untouched.
Čvrnica is a mountain in northwestern Herzegovina, it is best known for the stone passage Hajdučka vrata, and its highest peak is Pločno with 2,228 meters above sea level, Fena news agency writes.
