Sarajevo and Pale will soon be connected by a 13-kilometer-long cycling path. The path is intended for professional cyclists, but also for recreational ones. This tourism infrastructure project was financed by the European Union (EU).
The cycling path is 13 kilometers long, starting at the City Hall and ending at the Railway Station in Pale. The works on the construction of this path, with 2.3 million euros, are financed by the EU, and the project is being implemented in cooperation with the cities of Sarajevo, Istocno Sarajevo, and the municipalities of Stari Grad, Pale, and Istocni Stari Grad.
“Construction started from the side of Pale, and a large part is already completed. They had big challenges there regarding a ruined bridge, but a bridge was built, and tunnels that were made during the Austro-Hungarian period for Ciro were arranged. A truly beautiful landscape, everyone should visit it,” says Seid Skaljic, chairman of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Sarajevo.
Cycle tourism is one of the fastest-growing branches of tourism in general, and this type of active rest in nature is becoming more and more attractive. By gaining such a tourist path, the entire Sarajevo-Romanija region, and especially Pale, will get a new tourist dimension.
“There is a slight climb, very slight, which makes it suitable both for professionals and for recreational cyclists. For recreational cyclists, it is especially beneficial because it does not require much energy. Anyone can come with children aged 7-8 to ride on this path without fear that they won’t be able to return to Sarajevo,” explains Alija Ljubuskic, founder of the Cycling Club “Power plus”.
The path will, in the second phase of the project, be additionally extended, which will, due to the route it passes through, place it among the most attractive in this part of Europe.
“The second route, that is, the second phase, should go from the municipality of Pale to the tourist ski center Ravna Planina, then the path should be extended to Jahorina, to the Olympic beauty, then to Trebevic, and the path would have its goal in the municipality of Istocno Novo Sarajevo,” says Marko Lazarevic, media advisor to the mayor of the Municipality of Pale.
The first phase of the project, the Sarajevo-Pale section, should be completed by next summer, and our interlocutors pointed out that it will certainly be marked in red on cycle tourism maps, the one that must be visited.