Slobodan Brkić lives in the beautiful village of Ziličina in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several years ago, when he was working as a waiter in Banja Luka, a Crohn’s disease diagnosis brought him to a turning point in his life. He found himself grappling with big decisions about his future.
Slobodan turned to nature for guidance. He went back to his home village where he began to work with the local tourism board and soon envisioned turning it into a destination for travellers.
He took the funds he had set aside for medical treatment and instead got a bank loan to begin building facilities.
“I weighed about 56 kilos at that time,” Slobodan remembers. “When I told people around me that I was starting this big project, they didn't believe me. ‘Why? You’re one foot in the grave already,’ they said.”
The village was nowhere near a road or any other tourist attraction, which complicated things further. So when he learned that his land is on the Via Dinarica trail, he was thrilled.
At nearly 2,000 kilometres long, the Via Dinarica extends the entire length of the Dinaric Alps in the Western Balkans. It was first conceived of by a group of passionate hikers who wanted to connect Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo*, and Albania. The trail’s vision of cross-border cooperation is a healing notion, considering the region’s recent history of conflict.
In 2013 the hikers’ vision began to take shape. The regional initiative undertook a One Million Steps walk along 1,250 kilometres of existing mountain trails assessing, mapping and promoting the central Via Dinarica White Trail. The Green and Blue trails are now under development.
As the trails developed, UNDP stepped in with small business grants and a plan grew in parallel to develop local communities and small businesses to promote hospitality and tourism.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the most development has taken place, three trails of about 1,000 km run across mountains and wildflower-filled fields, along riverbanks and through quaint villages, like Ziličina.
“As we expand, more people are coming each year. This gives us more strength to push forward,” Slobodan says.
Via Dinarica touches half of the communities in the country and connects individuals, outdoor sports clubs, businesses and communities across the ethnic and national divides.
One place known for its delicious food is Simovića kuće in the Kalinovik area, owned Slavojka Puhalo. Her B&B offers an authentic gastronomic experience with the hospitality of small closely-knit mountain communities.
“I would do anything for the customers to make them feel at home,” Slavojka says.
Her products are all home-grown and made. “They admire the food’s rich flavours and say they’ve never tasted anything like it.”
The trail also passes rivers that offer white-water rafting.
Amar Alagić, a man in his early twenties, was ready to leave the country before he discovered new opportunities right on his back doorstep. His small city Bihać, situated on the banks of river Una in the northwest of the country, is rich in natural beauty but offered few options for a sustainable income.
“We live in a country where the majority of young people see a better future in moving abroad,” he says. “I was thinking I would certainly be better off somewhere else, but my heart is here, next to this beautiful Una River and the nature that surrounds it.”
When his family received a grant to expand their small rafting business from the Via Dinarica project, he opted to stay and take a chance on their passion. They purchased new water safety equipment and now offer several kayaking and rafting tours ranging from mild to white waters. Their client numbers more than doubled in 2017 compared to the previous year, and his profits are up 70 percent.
At a recent Via Dinarica conference, his mother Mahira, shared how deeply moved she was by how the initiative changed the life of her family, keeping them home.
Another goal of the initiative is to celebrate Bosnia and Herzegovina’s culture and traditions.
Amela manages a traditional guesthouse in Lukomir. At 1,495 metres it’s the highest and the most isolated mountain settlement. Tourists enjoy traditional dishes and Amela shows them how to prepare them.
“I would love to see people spreading the story not only about how Lukomir cherishes its traditions, but also how Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes its cultural values and heritage,” she says.
Her love for her culture comes from being involved in amateur theatre in school. She has since served as a translator and tour guide, and now is realizing her dream of running an NGO for cultural heritage and tourism.
She and her husband Sanjin also own a tourist agency in Konjic, a hotspot of Via Dinarica. They offer trekking, rafting, canoeing and canyoning on the Neretva and Rakitnica Rivers.
“I decided to start a business on my own because in our country if you really want to be successful and do the job you love, you must do it yourself and build it from the very beginning,” she says.
Their investment and passion has paid off. The number of customers has skyrocketed from 420 in 2015 to more than 8,000 in 2017. It makes her happy to see her country making progress.
“I'm looking forward to having some new young people earning their first salary and developing new ideas that will make our homeland a better and more beautiful place for all of us.”
In Ziličina, Slobodan has no doubt that he was right to follow the instincts that led him to Via Dinarica years ago. And the money he could have used for medical treatment, but didn’t, has ended up inadvertently having the same outcome; his less stressful lifestyle close to nature has improved his health.
“It turns out that I chose the right path,” he says.
USAID and UNDP in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and Montenegro supported the initial Walking the Via Dinarica and a platform to develop local communities and small businesses in hospitality and tourism. The initiative has had strong support of government ministries, designing adequate policies, allocating public finances to ensure investment, as well as facilitating cross-country cooperation. The next stage, supported by UNDP, USAID and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, will further develop economic opportunities along the trail.
Slobodan, Amar and Amela received grants to purchase new equipment and expand their current businesses, while Slavojka received one to establish her B&B.
All photos: UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina/Adnan Bubalo, except where noted.
*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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