eddiearniwhatev

Hi, I am cycling from Zagreb Croatia to Sarajevo - Mostar Bosnia then to Split Croatia. I've heard some talk of land mines leftover from the war, does anyone have any advice re. Bosnia and real dangers posed by landmines? My understanding is that danger areas are well marked and mapped in Croatia but information about Bosnia - which saw far more combat, from what I can tell - is not as easily obtained.

Specific information appreciated, thanks!

djb

I have no experience in that area, but I would suggest heading over to the CrazyGuyonaBike website, cgoab, and do some searches on trip journals through those areas. I know I have read journals in the past where folks have ridden through areas with minefield warnings, in the Balkans, but at least this website will have some recent experiences by cyclists who have toured there.

certainly a very serious topic and one that would be on my mind in any area with this sort of recent history, and would affect where I would think about setting up a tent and wandering around in areas where people would not regularly walk through, ie more of a risk of unknown mines being under 15 or 20 years of growth.

good luck finding more info and ultimately, erring on the side of caution will always be the best way to be.

tmac100

I would suggest going to the following 2 forums and post your question(s) there:

1. Trip Advisor Bosnia and Hertz... forum

Bosnia and Herzegovina Forum, Travel Discussion for Bosnia and Herzegovina ? TripAdvisor

2. Flyertalk Europe forum

Europe - FlyerTalk Forums

I have received a LOT of advice about travel from both FT and TA - and not always related to bicycling - BUT to travel in general. Bon voyage

fietsbob

CTC , Cyclists Touring Club in England is another, resource .. been around 100+ years .. ( 1878 )

The national cycling charity | CTC

gorshkov

If you're a Warmshowers member, you might ask on the forums there - that site seems to have a larger number of European users compared to Bikeforums and Crazyguy.

BadgerOnBike

Map of areas which might contain land mines in Croatia can be found here: https://misportal.hcr.hr/HCRweb/faces/simple/Map.jspx (created by government agency) additional information can be found here https://www.hcr.hr/en/index.asp (site is available in English and Croatian only).

I am unaware of situation in BiH but this would be a good starting point: https://www.bhmac.org/en/stream.daenet?kat=19

Timequake

Hi there. I have spend considerable time backpacking through the Balkans, especially Bosnia. The trip from Zagreb to Sarajevo is absolutely beautiful! Some of my favorite places in the world are there! As far as landmines go, yes there are still landmines in rural Bosnia, but minefields are usually well marked and closed off to the public, and detonations are relatively rare. Landmine detonations are dropping consistently every year, but unfortunately it usually happens to a child playing in the forest outside his or her rural village. While mine fields do still exist, I think coming in contact with one on a bicycle would be improbable. I think detonations are down to single digits each year now.

The mines were laid on front lines of battlefields, and having spent most of my college career studying the Balkans and the Bosnian War, I can tell you they align almost perfectly with today's geopolitical cantons in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Here's a map of known mine fields from 2008. Much work has been done by the international community to continue to clear the mines, so this map is a little outdated.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nes_BiH_en.png

What type of biking will you be doing? If you're riding a road bike, you obviously have nothing to worry about. There are good highway and roadway systems linking Zagreb, Sarajevo, Mostar, and Split that would be great for cycling. If you're mountain biking, (which could be really cool. Balkans are incredibly scenic), you should probably stick to well defined trails and keep a close eye out for mine field warning signs. They are red with a white skull and crossbones and read "PAZI MINE." As you approach mine-heavy rural regions, it may be safest to switch to roads until you've reached more heavily populated areas. Always err on the side of caution. If you're unsure, stick to well traveled routes and stay out of wooded or forested areas. Also if you're camping, there are plenty of bombed out homes from the war that were never fixed. They usually consist of brick or concrete slab, walls, maybe a second story, and if you're lucky, a partial roof. It would be very easy to set up a tent in one of those most nights (assuming you're camping in a village and not in the middle of nowhere), and I'm sure no one would bother you.

Now, aside from the mine stuff, I think your trip will be fantastic! May I recommend a few places to visit? Plitvice Lakes in Croatia may be a little out of your way, but it is worth it. It's the trip of a lifetime. I've traveled a lot, and Plitvice is the most beautiful place on Earth. Store the bike somewhere and dedicate an entire day to hiking its trails. Maybe even two - one day for the upper half and a second day for the lower half. Hell, just take a bus there and back from Zagreb before you start the tour!

The city of Banja Luka is quite beautiful with many old fortresses to visit. And it's on the way to Sarajevo.

While in Sarajevo, check out the old Olympic grounds. It's eerily beautiful in its state of disrepair.

After Split, if you're heading north back to Zagreb, stop off in Zadar. It's a quaint little town with a beautifully preserved old-city center. Some preserved buildings date back to the 6th and 7th centuries, and the city has tons of Roman ruins dating back to 100 BC and earlier!

Have a wonderful trip, and feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

PS. I hope you've done your hill training, because the area can be pretty mountainous. Long, gradual climbs for days!

MassiveD

Land mines are one thing, and bomblets are another. I believe that cluster bombs were used in Bosnia, and there are other UXBs, there are sites that discus all this stuff. There are lot of ways in which this stuff gets used. In a rules of war type deal land mines should be used in a structured way, and records kept, so long as they are cleaned up later and flooding or whatever doesn't distribute them, then you probably have a manageable problem. Same goes for cluster bombs that can be used to degrade an airfield. But in nasty wars where the intention of these uses is terrorism, ethnic/enemy cleansing, or denying vast areas to the enemy, or attacking food production, etc... Use can be widespread. So several cluster bombs or even a few thousand might be used tactically. Or you have strategic uses as in Laos were the US dropped a quarter billion cluster bombs, 1/3rd of which did not detonate, leaving a legacy of a millions of unexploded bombies, though people cycle tour there.

Another potential problem is DU ammo. This has a radioactive half life of 4.5 billion years, and can cause airborn radioactive, and water contamination problems among other problems. A lot of very smart technology uses this stupid ammo. Tank busting, attacks on hardened targets. Fair to say that visiting historic battlefields is no longer a safe activity in the modern world.

Stealth camping sounds like a bad idea in such areas.

Timequake

While all that is all generally true, the use of cluster bombs in Croatia and Bosnia was rare (it has only been documented once, and that was within the city of Sarajevo. Any unexploded ordinance was cleaned up 2 decades ago). Compared to landmines, the risk of encountering a cluster bomb is miniscule. He's not touring Laos, where they are relatively common. NATO conducted a few cluster bombing campaigns during the Kosovo war in 1999, but Croatia and Bosnia were not involved. And as for Depleted Uranium weapons in Bosnia, there has been no evidence of such, therefore DUs are not a safety concern.

While I agree it is wise to use caution while traveling off the beaten path in areas known to have landmines, the Balkans are not a place to be afraid of.

Daood

Don't camp in abandoned buildings, this is a high risk area for remaining mines. Not worth it. Plan your trip in >50k legs and use air bnb to support locals and get good route advice etc. air bob is like $20 a night. Plenty of camping but especially post '14 flood be wary mines shift yearly due to floods.

Also DU was not used in Balkan conflict.

saddlesores

contact the international HALO trust, or see if they have offices locally.
if you speak the language, local uxo clearance offices should have current information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HALO_Trust
https://www.halotrust.org/

Daood

Fyi halo trust, while amazing, is not active in Bosnia.

Kosova only.

tmac100

UXO in now quite rare in Laos. They are being discovered daily and local tour-guides know where it is safe (and unsafe) to travel. I had absolutely no concerns when I was in the "Plain of Jars" area in 2013.

I would expect the same is true of the Balkans - the locals know more than anyone of FT or elsewhere, where it is safe to travel;. Use their advice. Tip generously. Be a thoughtful traveller and enjoy their country, culture, and hospitality. All 5-star in spite of being an economically-poor country.

saddlesores

indyfabz

FYI...This thread is over a year old.

jefnvk

While I cannot comment specifically on Bosnia, when I was in Kosovo, the areas were clearly marked. Stay on the roads, don't go poking around abandoned buildings or trying to stealth camp in unfamiliar terrain, and you should be fine.

Bosnia is on its way to EU membership. It wouldn't concern me.

indyfabz

Considering the OP is more than a year old, I suspect he's completed that portion of his ride.

saddlesores

.....assuming he dinna come across any unexpected booooomps in the road!