Via ferrata in Bosnia & Herzegovina, route by route

180 metres of cable and 90 metres of height gain on the white cliffs of Trebević, directly above the city. Fifteen minutes to walk in, roughly 45 minutes climbing, graded B/C. The line starts in beech forest and comes out onto open limestone, so you get shade for the first half and Sarajevo's rooftops below you for the second.

Runs April-October

Our easiest ferrata: 105 metres of cable and 70 metres of height gain in the forest of Skakavac Nature Park, mostly in shade. Graded B, about half an hour on the cable, with room to learn clipping before anyone is waiting behind you. If it is your first time on a cable, start here. Add the walk to the 98-metre Skakavac waterfall if you want a longer day.

Runs April-October

350 metres of cable and 160 metres of height gain on Romanija's limestone, about 28 kilometres east of Sarajevo. Twenty minutes to walk in, then roughly 90 minutes climbing, with cable bridges over ravines deep enough that you stop looking down. Graded B/C and the hardest of our Sarajevo-side routes, so do Bukovik or Trebević first if you have not clipped a cable before.

Runs April-October

200 metres of cable and 80 metres of height gain on the wall above Fortica fortress, ten minutes from the road. Graded A/B and about half an hour of climbing, with the Old Bridge in view for most of it. There is a swinging bridge partway up, and the route finishes near the glass-floored Skywalk deck. Two hours door to door from the centre of Mostar.

Runs year-round, weather permitting

600 metres of cable and 350 metres of height gain on Hum, the hill directly above Mostar, broken up by three suspension bridges. It is the longest route in the city and the one with the widest view over the Neretva valley and the Old Bridge. The route carries no published grade; we rate it B/C from guiding it. Sustained but never desperate, which makes it a good second ferrata or an ambitious first one.

Runs year-round, weather permitting

500 metres of cable above Blagaj with about 150 metres of height gain, ten minutes from the road. Graded A/B: it traverses sideways more than it climbs, which keeps it technically easy for its length, around 45 minutes on the cable with a few steeper pitches. The Buna spring and the Dervish house are minutes away when you finish.

Runs year-round, weather permitting

One of the most dramatic via ferratas in the Balkans, reached in a way few others are: by kayak. After a 20-minute paddle across the emerald-green Grabovica Lake on the Neretva, you climb a 250-metre Grade D route up steep cliffs at the foot of Prenj, high above the river canyon. It's serious vertical terrain built for experienced climbers, but with a guide it's open to adventurous first-timers with a strong head for heights. The descent follows a marked trail past a viewpoint above Glogošnica.

Runs April-October