Kamp Zelenkovac

It's a 20-minute drive from Zelenkovac to Mrkonjić Grad, and from there about 10 minutes to the peaceful and still waters of Balkana in their green and wooded surroundings. Two artificial lakes are at the recreation centre here, tiptop for summer fishing and swimming; just up from the lake, the keen can try hiking and climbing up Lisina mountain in all months, or shoot down it on skis in winter. Lisina's also another top spot for local mushroom foraging, on its Mushroom Road network of paths and for hiking on its several trails. Paragliding (and a mountain lodge, for the puffed out) are available at the mountain's peak. To sort more outdoor activities, call in at the Pecka tourist office in Mrkonjic Grad, the starting and end point for outdoor excursions of all kinds. Climbers will be highly chuffed with the office's setting too, at the foot of the famed Pecka rocks, the biggest natural climbing centre in the country with over 100 routes. (Rock climbing is such a heady pastime here that a festival is dedicated to it every July.) The office team can also point you in the direction of gentler local pursuits such as wandering the springs of the Sana river, six kilometres from Mrkonjić Grad, or going on the trail of local food producers to investigate the country's cuisine. Within day trip distance, the gardens, parks and nearby spas and thermal springs of 'Green City' Banja Luka, the biggest in Republika Srpska, can be reached in about an hour and 10 minutes' by car. Closer to home, the mountain town of Jajce, with its famed waterfall where the Pliva and Vrbas rivers meet, is about 40 minutes' drive away.