Journey Through Konavle On The New 66-Mile Hiking Trail

Three days of stunning nature, nice vistas and peaks, jungle. Come and hike the trail. I mean Dubrovnik is like 30 minutes from here. What are we talking about? I began my adventure in Saftat, the starting point of the heart of Konavle. I chose to go counterclockwise to have a flatter section at the start and save the better views for the end. But let's place the trail on the map of Europe. Heart is located in southern Croatia bordering Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the largest municipality in the country, Konavle. Just a 30 minute drive from the world famous Dubrovnik which you can see in the distance. The trail is 66 miles long with 9,800 feet of elevation gain. The heart trail circles around St. Elijah's peak which dominates the landscape throughout the adventure and if you choose the blue bypass you will even cross this peak. A common sight along the trail also featured on the official emblem are cypress trees. These slender green guardians of Konavle have never failed to impress me. The first water source on the trail is at the hill with a volunteer fire station. A great spot to rest and enjoy the view. I filtered some water and continued. It's pretty late in the day and I will call the day off. I'm tired. Yeah, I'm tired. The trail occasionally wins along an old abandoned narrow gauge railway called Ciro by the locals. In the early 20th century it was the lifeline of the region connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubrovnik and the coastal area of present-day Montenegro. But the train was discontinued in 1966. Today these routes serve as biking and hiking trails. In the village of Bani there's the best water source on the trail, flowing from a well-maintained outlet, fresh and refreshing. Finally I reached Santa Barbara's chapel, the official entrance to the most challenging part of the trail, the Dunawe holes. I put on long pants due to the presence of vipers in the area. They're not aggressive but caution is necessary as they can bask on or under rocks on sunny days. Throughout my hike on the heart I didn't encounter a single viper but sturdy shoes and pants are a must and hiking poles help announce your presence to smaller animals such as snakes. The Dunawe holes are a remote part of Konevle and before my team and I cleared the path no one had ventured here since the war in 1991 and in some places even longer. There used to be a whole network of peasant trails but most had overgrown until the heart team decided to uncover this infrastructural treasure. Fortunately we succeeded and now you can hike through this Mediterranean jungle on the heart of Konevle route. The route through the Dunawe holes is quite demanding. It takes an average hiker 8 to 10 hours to traverse the 10 miles of the trail. There's hardly any water except for some muddy holes that can serve in an emergency. Hence it's crucial to enter the Dunawe holes prepared and equipped and preferably with company as there is little to no cell signal. Yes I went alone but don't follow my example. Here it is so just follow these red stripes in these jungle areas and you cannot get lost. So I exited the jungle after nine hours of hiking. I got on the other side and here I am. It's getting dark and I'm calling the day. It's enough for today. Day three began where I finished the night before in Duba Konavoska. Although I had hiked these trails before it was winter then and I didn't know what to expect on this stretch. But I was immediately amazed by the abundance of flowers especially the purple sage lining the path. The trail continued to impress and another peak awaited Stražišće with a picturesque trail leading up to it. Yet the dominant feature remained the one and only St. Elijah's peak. Hey I need to get up there on that hill. Nice it's gonna be fantastic view from up there. And finally the last peak of this adventure was before me. At the top there is a cross a monument marking the site of a plane crash from 1996 that claimed the lives of many including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. And there it was. Behind me was the last peak of the heart of Konovalje and I began my descent to my starting and ending point. The older brother of Dubrovnik, the town of Caftat, named after the latin word Civitas Vetus meaning old town or as the romans call it Epidaurus taken from the ancient Greeks who had a colony here in the 6th century BC. Interestingly Italians call Caftat Ragusavecchia meaning old Dubrovnik. Truly a lot of history to explore. So that's it. After three days I'm finishing the trail. Three days of stunning nature, nice vistas, peaks, jungle, rocky trails, grassy trails, animals, sea in the distance. So heart of Konovalje is the trail that I'm an author of. I established the route. My friend Bimbo and myself we founded the lost, old lost routes and trails in the mountains of Konovalje municipality. So we were working whole winter and I was clearing the trails and maintaining the trails in March and after a lot of work the trail has finally become reality. So that means that the website is on. So please visit website. Everything you need to know about this trail is there. Social media please do follow us and come and hike the trail. I mean Dubrovnik is like 30 minutes from here. What are we talking about? So now I'm inviting you to come to Konovalje and to enjoy the beautiful seacoast and take three or four days and hike heart of Konovalje. Hiking experience and running trail. See you. Bye.