BEST OF EAST BOSNIA: Heavenly green Drina River Canyon

BEST OF EAST BOSNIA

“Panorama Resort” Međeđa-A resort on the coast of the glittering Drina Lake

_{^{The amazing Drina river in Međeđa is called Drina lake, just because downstream is a dam that makes out of the river a lake.}}

√ On the coast of the beautiful Drina lake, just 98 km from Sarajevo, lies the top – notch resort of Eastern Bosnia.

√ “Panorama Resort” is placed on the most beautiful viewpoint on the Drina Lake.

√ “Panorama Resort” is situated in the village of Međeđa, just 15 minutes from the city of Višegrad.

√ Imagine being bathed with Sun every morning while the glittering lake invites you to come outside..

Drina canyon after the Colorado Canyon in USA and Tara Canyon in Montenegro is the third deepest canyon in the world. Located on the left bank of Drina lake, “Panorama Resort” is soaking up all the lake glitter while fulfilling the resort with positive vibes and energy. The nature is fabulous, leaving you without breath with the green sparkling water, steep canyon sides and hilly landscape.

While driving throughout the canyon you will not miss the magnificent architectural achievement, the Austro-Hungarian railroad. The plan was to connect Sarajevo and Belgrade and it is stunning how the railroad was made through the canyon. This railroad was one of the biggest achievements in Europe during the 20th century.

_{^{Our ride to East Bosnia started with exploring the amazing Canyon of the River Praca which is a first-class natural beauty. It contains distinctive vegetation and a number of natural rarities. Steep cliffs are overgrown with forests of oak, beech, hornbeam, ash, black pine and various shrubby species. The canyon is difficult to access and is completely out of reach of human settlements. Until 1978, the narrow-gauge railway Sarajevo – Užice passed through the valley of the river Prača. The railway was built by Austro-Hungary in 1906.}}

_{^{With its cliffs and untouched nature we found it perfect for nature lovers. It provides an excellent ambience for anyone interested in hiking, cycling}},_{^{speleology or fishing.}}

_{^{Prača is a left tributary of the Drina River. It originates on the eastern slopes of the mountain Jahorina and is a spectacular place for all of you off the beaten path lovers.}}

Panorama Resort

Many travellers stop at the “Panorama Resort” on the way from Belgrade to Sarajevo if they want to visit Nature Park Tara, “The Shargan Eight”, “Kustendorf” and Višegrad. The surrounding area of “Panorama Resort” offers you many different activities for enjoying nature and architecture. The area is full of medieval Bosnian tombstones that are UNESCO world heritage. A perfect option for a hike and for a throwback to the medieval times.

The owner of “Panorama Resort” is Mr. Halil Gegić who was a refuge during the Bosnian war and generated the capital in the USA, back in the 1990s. Love for his country, especially where he is from, Eastern Bosnia, was the main reason to come back and to make investment.

^{Golden colour of freshly baked cheese pie. Crispy from the outside and melting cheese heaven from the inside. You must have heard already that every good adventure in Bosnia starts and ends with good local food, and cheese pie (sirnica) is one of our favourites. As soon as we have arrived we ordered the best there is on a menu.}

^{_{Everyone at Panorama Resort called this amazing lady “aunt”. Aunt was happy to show us the entire and rather hypnotising process of her master skills in pie making.}}

_{^{“Once you learn how to make a pie there is nothing in this world that would be too hard for you.” It is not because making pie is that difficult, it is more of an urge of preserving the tradition which keeps things simple and remind us how beautiful life can be if you learn how to value yourself by, not what you can’t, but what you can do.}}

With pure devotion and brilliant decisions Halil Gegić managed to build one of the best resorts in Eastern Bosnia. That is not all, in order to have a closed circuit, he made a farm in the rural area of Goražde, 1 hour drive from his restaurant. Below the restaurant is also a trout fishpond. To sum up, “Panorama Resort” has organic eco production from the top to the bottom of the menu.

“Panorama Resort” has 6 apartments and 5 bungalows. The apartments and bungalows are equipped with TV, air conditioning and coffee machines. Each apartment and bungalow has its own terrasse that provides you the best view on Drina lake and canyon. Hygiene in the rooms and toilets is guaranteed. There is also a pool, for the people that stay in “Panorama Resort” is free and for others is 10 KM (5 euros) entire day.

^{_{Ok, we have to be sincere here and say that, during our trips, it is never only about work. Exploring these small gems is an absolute pleasure and having a chance to enjoy ocean blue pool at the Resort is an absolute must so you do understand why we had to stay there for couple of hours 🙂 The view is simply spectacular and, in the evenings, you can actually enjoy some great Bosnian parties (dernek) with live music.}}

^{_{The amazing view from one of the rooms. Spending a night here and waking up to a rising sun while being pampered with collaborating silence and sounds of nature is a first thing that came up as soon as we entered. Rooms are spacious, clean and budget friendly. On the other hand, for those of you who are more into isolation, for almost a same amount of money, you can book a bungalow as well.}}

“Panorama Resort” has its own farm and trout fishpond. Therefore you will be definitely sure that the restaurant serves only fresh and organic food. The farm is about one hour drive from Međeđa, located on the hills of Eastern Bosnia. The animals are freely outside during the day walking where they are pleased. Cows, goats, sheeps, geese, chicken and their protectors, dogs, are the inhabitants of the farm. Except for the fresh domestic meat, the restaurant offers fresh organic vegetables from the farm. That is not all, because they have their own eggs, cheese, kajmak and many others.

^{_{Brace yourselves, winter is here! Why we love winter? It is a time for winter food storage and pickled veggies!}}

^{_{Beautiful creatures welcoming us at the farm was the highlight of this visit. We named her “Ms Fancy”.}}

^{_{The photo was taken on purpose. The idea is to show people that our team is also capable for some hard work. Let’s be honest here, Taib is just pretending. It took longer to take this photo than the time he actually spent working}} 😀

^{_{Panorama Resort has their own trout fish-pound. Home made, local, fresh and organic is all that speaks this resort.}}

^{_{This fluffy cutey is a farm mascot with a belief it’s actually a dog. Did not have heart to say the opposite in front of it.}}

“Panorama Resort” is offering many different things to do if you decide to stay more days. There is a pool if you like to refresh yourself and the terrasse is just next to it. Jet Ski on the Drina lake is another unforgettable fun option to do. The Drina river is rich with fish like trout, catfish, carp, chub and huchen.

If you are crazy about fishing “Panorama Resort” is a perfect location to stay and enjoy. Fisherman’s houses are equipped with barbecue and they are just next to the coast of the lake. If someone prefers to fish on the water, “Panorama Resort” has small boats for that. Above the resort are hiking trails with breathtaking forests. The area is rich with mushrooms such as ceps, milk caps and red pine mushrooms. On the hiking trails you can find Bosnian medieval tombstones and learn a lot about the kingdom.

^{_{Had no time for fishing but from the spacious Panorama Resort surroundings you can see how amazing it would be spending some time hoping for some monster catch which, having in mind the stories from locals, is very possible.}}

^{_{Thousands shades of green, only few hundreds of meters from spectacular Drina Lake. Exploring the fields of wild flowers and herbs, and taking a walk through dense but friendly forests are just some of the reasons we spent more time in East Bosnia than we originally intended to.}}

Višegrad is also a must do city to visit and enjoy. Lots of tourists decide to visit Višegrad because of the great Ottoman bridge “Mehmed Pasha Sokolović” and because of the historic novel “The bridge on the Drina”, written by Ivo Andrić. A boat ride on Drina river is another must do thing in Višegrad and don’t forget to visit Andrićgrad. Dobrun Orthodox Christian Monastery is another attraction to visit if you like sacred architecture. In Western Serbia, 30 minutes drive from Višegrad, is “Kustendorf”. A famous movie director from Sarajevo, Emir Kusturica, made a village for a movie set. Nowadays it is a resort with restaurants, bungalows, pools and a tiny church. On the way to “Nature Park Tara” is the “Shargan Eight”, a reconstructed part of the Sarajevo – Belgrade Austro – Hungarian railroad.

“Panorama Resort” is a perfect starting point for adventures and perfect place for relaxation. Come and feel Eastern Bosnia.

We already mentioned organic food production of Eastern Bosnia and how food is important for healthy life. Everything that people eat in this region is very healthy and 100 % organic. Slavko Šijaković is the best example of how healthy and organic food combined with strong will and hard training makes a strongman out of you.

^{_{Slavko, Bosnian Chuck Norris, a living legend and, currently, the most desirable bachelor of East Bosnia. Slavko is used on random people taking photos of him but still keeps the unfake and warm smile.}}

Bosnian Chuck Norris, Slavko Šijaković, says that he never tried any chemical substances to improve his muscle strength. His entire life he was eating domestic organic food like eggs, cheese, yogurt, fish, fresh vegetables etc. Just for breakfast, Slavko eats 10 eggs, red meat, bread and milk or anything that is nutritious.

Maybe nowadays it would be the opposite and Slavko Šijaković would be a role model to Chuck Norris. After the hard work in “Panorama Resort”, Slavko doesn’t go to rest in his home. His bed and TV is the gym. Sometimes he runs 40 km in nature, earlier while he was unemployed he used to run even 60 km. He runs 40 km, makes 1000 sit – ups and push – ups and after that he is capable of unloading a truck full of coal.

The best anecdote about Slavko is that he managed to unload 22 tons of coal in just a few hours for the Višegrad ambulance!