Ravna village, Jablanica: the Bijela river and quiet

Ravna is not a place you stumble into. You turn off the Neretva valley, the road narrows, and within a few minutes the town is behind you. What is left is meadow, forest and the Bijela, which comes down off Prenj and stays cold all summer.

The river is why people come

The Bijela is a tributary of the Neretva. The water is clear to the bottom and shallow at the bank, and in one spot it widens into a natural pool people swim in. In August it is the coldest thing in the valley. Shallow enough for children, deep enough that an adult actually cools down.

Quiet you can hear

The first night in Ravna usually surprises people arriving from a city. No traffic, no neighbours, no background hum. You hear the river and now and then wind through the trees. Most guests sleep longer on their first night than they planned to.

What a day looks like

• Swimming in the Bijela and lying on the grass. For most guests that is the whole programme.
• Hiking Prenj or Čvrsnica, with a guide and a few days notice.
• Canyoning the Bijela, with gear and someone who knows the route.
• A trip into Jablanica, to the Battle of the Neretva museum and the destroyed bridge.
• A barbecue in the guest lounge once the evening comes in.

Food that did not arrive in a van

The camp serves home cooked organic food and homemade juices for an extra charge. It is not a restaurant with a three page menu, it is whatever is being cooked that day. Give us a day of notice and tell us how many of you there are.

When to come

Summer is the obvious answer, because that is when the river is at its best. Late spring and early autumn have their own case though. The valley is empty, the air is cooler and the colours beat anything you get in July. If quiet matters more than swimming, come outside the season.