Cincar

Overview

Cincar (2006m) is highest mountain of western Bosnia and the only one exceeding 2000m meters. It is part of Dinaric Alps chain and has 20x20km dimensions. It is stretching in NW-SE direction, parallel with chain. Cincar mountain and Cincar, the highest peak, share the same name. Main characteristic of this region are huge grassy spaces: karts fields, high lying plains or plateaus with very little forest. Cincar has gone even further. On the southern slopes there are almost no forest or trees just enormous grassy spaces. On the SW is Livanjsko Polje field and Livno town (723m), just at the foothills of the mountain. Above it Cincar rises in two steps. First step is slope Basajkovac, which rises some 600m and is partly under oak forests. On some spots slope is very steep with cliffs, especially above Livno. Behind the edge is huge undulating grassy plateau, Krug Planina, that is gradually rising from 1300 to 1400 meters and has dimensions 15x6km. It would remind most of North American prairie. On that huge space there is only handful of trees. On the other side of Krug Planina rises huge, 600m high, grassy dome of Cincar, mountains highest peak. NE slopes are partly under beech, fir and spruce forests with beautiful meadows. Above the forest line, reaching the summit is layer of dwarf pine. Cincar is probably most beautiful in October, when grass becomes yellow and whole mountain and surrounding fields look like huge prairie.

Other high peaks of Cincar are Malovan (1826m), Osjecenica (1798m), Osin Glavica (1720m) and Voloder (1640m).

Cincar has very harsh climate. Bura wind here reaches hurricane force and is partly a reason there are no trees on SW slopes. Snow is covering Cincar from mid October to mid May, sometimes even longer, which makes Cincar excellent tour ski mountain.

Geography. Cincar is surrounded by huge karst fields, typical for Dinaric Alps chain. They are lying between the mountains and are parallel with them, stretching in NW-SE direction. Here, around Cincar, they are rising like steps. Their climate is harsh, with long and snowy winters and fresh and short summers.
- Biggest and lowest lying is Livanjsko Polje field. Cincar is rising above its SE end. It is almost completely flat and 65km long at the altitude of 700m. In the SE corner is huge accumulation lake Busko Blato, covering 50 square km area. On the other side of Livanjsko Polje field is Kamesnica (1855m), last group of long Dinara mountain.
- Behind Livanjsko Polje, towards NE, are Staretina (1675m) and Golija (1890m) mountains. Cincar is connected with them over Koricina pass (1113m), which is used by Livno-Glamoc road.
- These mountains divide Livanjsko from Glamocko Polje field, which is NW of Cincar. It is 45km long at average altitude of 1000m.
- Behind Glamocko Polje is Slovinj mountain. Its highest peak, Kujaca (1834m), is first NW neighbor of Cincar.
- Behind Slovinj and Cincar, further towards NE, is highest lying Kupresko Polje field. It is 25km long at the altitude of over 1100m.
- Towards SE is last of the fields surrounding Cincar area, Duvanjsko Polje field. It is 20km long, 12km wide at the altitude of 900m. Between it and Livanjsko Polje is Tusnica (1697m) mountain.

Starting point to visit and climb Cincar is Livno town (population 10 000) at the SW foothills of the mountain. Livno is first mentioned in written document in year 892. Croats arrived here, as other south Slavs, on the area of former Yugoslavia in years after 600. It has tumultuous history. It has been a part of Croatian and Bosnian kingdoms since. For some 400 year, between 1480 and 1878, it was ruled by Turks. Old town was destroyed then and rebuild in ‘eastern’ style. From 1878 till WW I was part of Austro-Hungarian Empire. After WW I Yugoslavia was formed and Livno was in Bosnia and Herzegovina republic. In 1991-1992 Yugoslavia broke up and Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent state. Three religions collide on this area so in Livno you can find catholic and orthodox christian churches and mosques. Population is predominantly Croat. Livno panorama is dominated by very steep slopes of Basajkovac, first step of Cincar. Just above the town they fall with cliffs towards the source of Bistrica river. Source is called Duman. On top of cliffs, above the source is Sahat Kula tower, which offers great view on Livno bellow, Livanjsko Polje field and Kamesnica (Dinara) mountain, on the opposite side of the field.

Cincar Views

View from the summit is fantastic. It includes everything mentioned under Geography in Overview section and that is only ‘close’ surroundings. Many Bosnian mountains are in panorama including: Vitorog (1906m), Klekovaca (1961m), Osjecenica (1796m) and Sator (1872m), towards NW. Dinara mountain with Troglav (1913m) and Kamesnica (1855m) in in W direction. Behind, in Croatia, is Svilaja (1508m) and Biokovo (1762m), towards S. On clear days, just right of Biokovo mountain, Brac island and Adriatic sea is visible! Towards SE & E are: Cvrsnica (2226m), Vran (2074m), Prenj (2155m), Radusa (1955m) and Vranica (2110m) mountains.

Getting There

If you are coming to Bosnia by plane your gate to country is Sarajevo airport. How to get there check on Air Bosna, a national airline pages. From Sarajevo you can reach Livno by bus.

By car Livno can be accessed from many directions. If you are coming from western or central Europe you have to go through Croatia.

Via Knin: How to reach Knin check on Dinara mountain page. From here you head towards Bosnian town of Bosansko Grahovo, over Derala pass (965km) (36km). It is further 75km to Livno.


Via Split: From Split you head towards Sinj. It is 26km till the junction in Brnaze village. Here you turn right towards Livno, over Trilj. It is 11km to Trilj and further 26km to Kamensko border pass with Bosnia. From here further 35km till Livno.

Via Bihac: This is actually shorter variation of Knin direction, if you are coming from Zagreb. It is 130km from Zagreb to Grabovac village, where you turn towards Bosnian border and Bihac, which is further 29km away. From Bihac you head towards Bosanski Petrovac, 54km away. There turn right towards Drvar and Bosansko Grahovo, 62km away. From Bosansko Grahovo is final 75km to Livno.


Distances between Bosnian Cities and Places is useful link for car travelers.

More info on Bosnia Herzegovina find on virtualtourist, lonelyplanet and B&H tourism web pages.

Red Tape

No limitations.

When To Climb

Climate of Cincar is very harsh and has quite notable extremes. In winter it is very cold, there is lot of snow. Bura wind is especially dangerous as it can reach hurricane force. Temperatures around -20C or bellow are not rare. When weather is good, climbing Cincar is rewarding. Views are fantastic. Crampons are of course necessary. Walking sticks are probably better option than ice ax. Cincar is also great tour ski mountain. From June to October Cincar is free of snow but it can fall anytime of year. Snow begins to melt in May. Second best month to visit, for those who don’t like snow, would be June, when nature turns green and there is lot of flowers. July and August are quite hot and there is no shade on the mountain. October is especially beautiful, the best month to climb Cincar. Autumn colors take over and visibility is great. In that period colors are amazing, grass is yellow and whole mountain looks like North American style prairie.

Mountain Conditions

There is no meteo station on Cincar. But there is current weather and forecast for Livno, which is just bellow the mountain. For higher altitude information you can use Zavizan station on Velebit mountain (in Croatia) or even better on Bjelasnica mountain (close to Sarajevo). On FMZBiH there is snow info and temperature for Bjelasnica, which has similar altitude.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Meteo Institute (FMZBiH):
FMZBiH home page
B&H current weather and forecast page at FMZBiH

WeatherOnline:
WeatherOnline home page
Croatia at WeatherOnline
Bosnia Herzegovina at WeatherOnline
Zavizan, Velebit at WeatherOnline

Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Association (DHMZ):
DHMZ home page
DHMZ Forecast page
DHMZ 7 Day Forecast including Bosnian cities of Sarajevo & Bihac

Wunderground:
Livno forecast page

Camping

There are no objects on Cincar. Cincar is one day mountain, if you only would like to climb the highest summit, so it not a necessity. If you would like to spend a night or more on the mountain use a tent. There is no shortage of spots where you can erect it. The best spot is certainly Begovac (1385m) meadows, at the foothills of Cincar peak. There is a source of water, which doesn't dry out and ruins of former cattle farm and mountain refuge. In Livno town, just bellow the mountain, there are few hotels and private apartments to stay in. I would recommend Dinara hotel, which is just by the river and close to the route starting point or Park hotel, which is few hundred meters away, also by the Bistrica river. Both hotels are in downtown.

Livno hotels
Hotel Park, Livno

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Images

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