About 150 km northwest of Sarajevo, Jajce is a medieval walled town built around a hilltop fortress where the Pliva River meets the Vrbas. It is best known for two things: a spectacular 20-metre waterfall right in the centre of town, and its role in Yugoslav history — the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formally founded here in 1943 at the Second Session of AVNOJ.
The old town is compact and walkable. Narrow cobblestone streets climb to the medieval fortress, which offers wide views over the valley. Below the walls you will find the catacombs, a Roman-era underground chapel carved into the rock, and the ruins of a temple to the god Mithras. The AVNOJ Museum documenting the wartime session is still open, though it saw damage during the 1990s conflict.
Outside the walls, the Pliva Lakes are the other highlight. A string of small watermills on wooden stilts sits between the two lakes — one of the most photographed scenes in Bosnia. The lakes and surrounding forest make for easy half-day walks, and the whole area is dramatically green in summer.