Sarajevo is a decent place to indulge in winter sports.  There are more than 40 kilometres of superb ski slopes in the vicinity of the city, the most popular being those at Bjelasnica Mountain.

In 1984, the mountain played host to the Winter Olympics Games and has continued to be a great place for hiking, biking, skiing and village tourism ever since. 

Bjelasnica is reachable from Sarajevo by a wide, and well cared for road.  Be prepared to use snow chains, however, since it is not the custom  to spread salt on the roads in these parts.  

The drive from Sarajevo takes about half an hour, and you can park in the guarded car park right at the bottom of the ski lifts.  Parking will cost you around €2, and a day's ski lift pass will cost around €13. There is a aticket office in the car park.  

If you don't have your own skis and boots, you can hire them for around €8 a day. If you only want to rent skis (or a snowboard), you'll pay about €5 a day. Note that most hire gear is not the latest.

February is a great month to enjoy the mountain, as the snow is usually excellent. For an up-to-the-minute snow report, as well as details as to which lifts are running, try here.

There is also night skiing on Bjelasnica. A 750-metre piste is lit up from 6.30 to 9 pm, Monday to Sunday, and costs €9.  

Did you know?

The village of Lukomir on Bjelasnica Mountain is the highest and most isolated village in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The Bjelasnica Mountain has more species of flora and fauna then the whole of France.