The Una River is phenomenal. No wonder that in 2008 the Una National Park was created along a part of it. The ornament, the jewel in the park’s crown, are three waterfalls. In this article I will show you Štrbački buk – the highest of the three beautiful waterfalls.

It will probably take you a whole day to visit all three waterfalls on the Una river. We planned to visit just one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s natural attractions on our tour, and we chose Štrbački buk, the highest of the waterfalls. WDcided to spend the rest of the day visiting Ostrozac Castle and an abandoned military airport with a hangar carved into the mountain (this is already an attraction in Croatia). However, this is a topic for a separate article and you will certainly find it with me as well. But later 🙂

We stayed in Bihać, and we went around the town at night and then quickly explored it in the morning. Then we drove towards the waterfall. Well, I’ll admit that we also had a little breaks because we decided to stop by the road and buy rakija and honey for home and our families. Here a little advice: if you want lower prices, buy in the south of Bosnia. It’s still cheap in the north of the country, but it’s a little more expensive part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Štrbački buk. The highest waterfall on the Una

We’ll get to the entrance of the National Park of Una by going down a narrow gravel road. We’ll leave the car here and walk the last kilometer along the scenic river. But if you don’t like walking, the main parking lot is closer to the waterfall.

I’ll admit frankly that initially nothing promises to be phenomenal that time. Several souvenir stands for tourists and one pub – nothing special at all. Then you get to a wooden footbridge and what you came here for begins. Already from afar you can hear the roar of falling water, and as you approach the waterfall, the intensity obviously increases.

A comfortable wooden path leads along the river and descends toward more water rapids. I stopped like everyone else right next to the main waterfall. Like everyone else I took a few photos, especially since there were several pontoons standing on the river. Right next to them were a few guys hanging around. The crews who participated in the rafting went lower down the wooden path. They got into the pontoons lower down.

For now, they’re on the main platform, getting a good view of the Una waterfall with the whole team. They’re looking the same way as me, as their helmsmen first drop the pontoons and then jump into the watery gully themselves. I won’t lie, it’s pretty cool, but I’m more impressed by the jump off the bridge in beautiful Mostar. After a while, only the folks who came by car stay on the viewing platform, so there’s no crowd. Now I can take pictures of the rafters and below, right next to me, they’re crossing the smaller water rapids.

They must be having a great time. Just as I had fun while rafting in Nepal. Because I admit that the rafting on the Tara River , which I did a few years earlier on the border of Bosnia and Montenegro, I enjoyed the least. Ot was very little exciting. Rafting on the Una seems to be more interesting.

Štrbački buk. How beautiful it is here!

Štrbački buk waterfall is 24.5 meters high. But don’t think there’s just one waterfall here. There’s one main waterfall, but there are also other water rapids below it. They’re smaller, of course, but still impressive. You can get a good view of the whole thing by walking down to the footbridges and getting a bit closer to the Una riverbed. From this spot, the Una river looks especially picturesque. The only bummer is the sun shining straight in your eyes, making it tough to get a good shot. The place looks better in the morning. But this panorama is still captivating, and you can stare at it for long minutes.

To improve my point of view I climb a sizable rock. For many viewers it provides a kind of viewing platform. All the better because here no one obstructs the view of Štrbački buk – the highest waterfall on the Una. From here you can see all three water cascades. It’s also starting to get empty on the river. The rafting participants have already drifted away, and there are no crowds of tourists besides us. It’s probably more crowded in high season, but today it’s relatively quiet.

I regret that we will not go towards Martin Brod and the Great Waterfall on the Una. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that anymore, and our further route goes up the mountain towards the north. But I’m sure that one day I’ll get in the car again and visit the other waterfalls. Of course, I will also take the opportunity to walk around Una National Park. Because it looks simply phenomenal!

Štrbački Buk – all you need to know

Štrbački buk is one of the three largest waterfalls on Una river. To get to it, follow the signposts. They are set up in many places along the road leading to and from Bihacia. The best way is to turn in Orašac at the entrance to the park marked with the number three. At first you will be faced with a pretty good asphalt road, which turns into a gravel road in the last section. The entire route from the entrance to the parking lot is about 8km.

There is no problem with parking on site. Right next to the waterfall there is a large meadow, which is also a parking lot. You can also leave your car at the toll booth for the park.

The entrance ticket to the park and thus to the waterfall costs 8 KM.

A good base for visiting the Una National Park is Bihać. But you can also come here from Croatia, as the Plitvice Lakes are only a few kilometers away. As you can see, nature has not spared spectacular scenery here.