Herzegovinian beauty carries a different name each time it emerges

(Patria) - The Trebižat River, as it is called for most of its course, is a sinking river that descends into the 'underground' as many as eight times on its approximately fifty-kilometer journey from Posušje through the Imotski region to Ljubuški and its mouth in the Neretva.

Its uniqueness lies not only in the numerous waterfalls and other beauties it creates in the karst, nor in the fact that it is the only European sinking river with so many descents.

In its elusiveness, it carries a different name each time it appears on the surface - writes Punkufer.

Thus, in Herzegovina and Dalmatian Zagora, it is known as Culuša, Ričina, Brina, Suvaja, Matica, Vrljika, Tihaljina, Mlade, and - Trebižat.

In the vicinity of Imotski, they call it Vrljika, from the source in Peć-Mlini to below Klobuk, they call it Rika, then it becomes Tihaljina, and when it fills with young water, Mlade, and in Trebižatsko polje until the Neretva, clearly - Trebižat.

Along its entire course, this river, with its canyons, waterfalls, bends, bridges, fords, and jumps, as well as its names, speaks of the history of the region it flows through, of its people and what it meant to them, and records a fantastic karst story woven from stone and water.

In the upper part of its course, which flows through Croatia, in Imotsko polje, we encounter it as Suvaja, Vrljika, and Matica. Suvaja connects the accumulation lake Ričice or Green Lake with Prološko blato.

Nearby is the source of Vrljika, which becomes Matica when it crosses the border. Near Drinovci, Matica had been sinking for centuries, until the end of the twentieth century, due to the Peć Mlini hydroelectric power plant, its sinkhole was regulated, and Lake Nuga was created.

In Peć-Mlini, the river emerges under the name Tihaljina and continues its journey towards the Neretva. From its cave source, it spreads into several waterfalls and rapids, alongside which old watermills still stand, after which the place got its name, and today it is also a popular excursion spot and adventure park.

Near the 19th-century Kavazbaša bridge, Tihaljina has always been crossed. Before the construction of the bridge, there were jumps here - stone blocks with flattened tops, weighing several tons, which connected its banks.

After Tihaljina is fed by spring water from the Klokun spring near Klobuk and turns into Mlade, it speeds up and makes itself important with its beauty at the Koćuša waterfall near the village of Veljaci, which does not impress with its height (it is only five meters high) but with its width.

Near the place Otok and the Prokop river, our heroine becomes Trebižat, as she will be called all the way to the Neretva. A few kilometers from Ljubuški, in the village of Hrašljani, Trebižat plunges down the 15-meter-high Čeveljuša waterfall.

In its lower course, near the village of Studenci, it forms the Kravica waterfall, one of the most unusual places in this poetically beautiful part of Herzegovina.

Kravica is a waterfall almost 30 meters high, with a natural amphitheater 120 meters in diameter.

Today, Kravica is the center of (secular) tourism in this region with an adventure park and zip-line, arranged promenades, climbing routes, and via ferratas that have replaced the old mills and fulling mills for cloth.

After Kravica, Trebižat flows peacefully towards the Neretva, as if it had not just plunged down one of the most beautiful canyons in Herzegovina.

Along the entire course of Trebižat, or whatever you wish to call it, there are numerous traces of people, from prehistory and the time of the ancient Romans, the Middle Ages and its strong fortresses, the Ottoman era and its many legends of unhappy loves, unblemished honor, and the quiet lives of humble people shaped by this river.

Their descendants will today, on the calm bends it creates, bathing spots, amidst loud beeches and romantic waterfalls, host you (as if they owe you) with fresh fish caught before your eyes and the most delicious dishes created in small fertile oases that Tihaljina or Trebižat or... has created in the hot stone and bare karst.

Their warmth will nourish you just as the capricious water of this river nourishes the little dry red earth...