The town of Blagaj is built on the site of the Roman town of Bona, most likely named for its mild weather patterns. ("blaga" in Bosnian stands for "mild"). Blagaj is one of the best examples of the interconnectedness of Herzegovina’s cultural and natural heritage. Atop the mountain in Blagaj are the ruins of an ancient Illyrian fortification. The Romans added to the original structure, and by the middle Ages it had become the castle of the ruling noble family of Hum. The Ottomans added even more the large fort and the ruins stand witness of four civilisations that have at one time to another made Herzegovina their home. The
tekia dervish house built at the base of a 200m rock face at the source of Buna River is a magical place, blessed with the powers of both humans and nature. Today
tekia is a pilgrimage site as it holds a maquam (a shrine) sacred to the Sufis around the world. Legend says that a fourteenth century Baktashi saint Sari Saltik visited Blagaj decades prior to the Ottoman armies’ arrival. His shrines can also be found in Romania (Babadag), Macedonia (near Ohrid) and the most famous in Albania (Kruja). This is the largest karst spring in Europe and it gives rise to Buna River. The river emerges from an underground stream after it carved its way through the irregular limestone commonly found in this part of Europe. The sight is breathtaking with the cold green river rushing out of a cave under a towering cliff. Interestingly, perhaps because of its southern facing location or because it is in the wind shadow the temperature here is always mild, even in the midst of winter.
Rivers of Buna and Bunica are placed in the Blagaj area. Buna River has well known spring with the biggest spring by the amount of water per second, 43.000 l/second, in Europe. The water springs from the depth of 30 meters, the stream of this river goes through the urban part of Blagaj with length of 6 kilometres. The Buna river is one of the cleanest rivers in this part of Europe and very rich with fish. By coming to the source there is possibility of picnic trips, tracking, sightseeing of cultural-historical heritage, and taste local gastro-offer.
River of Bunica is placed 4 kilometres from the centre of Blagaj with its huge spring which diameter is 40 meter. This river differs from the river of Buna in the fact that its stream has length of about 7 kilometres and goes through inapproachable parts of the valley.
