Explore Banja Luka
A huge tourism potential lies in Banja Luka. A natural resource of special significance is the Vrbas River, which is suitable for water sports such as kayaking, rafting and sports fishing.
A special boat, dayak, a peculiarity of the Vrbas River, adds to the river`s attractiveness and the tourist offer of Banja Luka.
Due to many of its green areas (parks and tree-lined roads) Banja Luka is known as a city of greenery. It is also called a city of youth and sports, and is famous of Banja Luka`s kebab, Trappist cheese and dayak boat.
The interweave of many cultures in Banja Luka gave a considerable number of cultural and historical monuments that witness various epochs and human creation in the area. The Kastel fort is particularly attractive as a historical center of the city and the place where Banja Luka was basically founded. It is situated in the city center, at the confluence of the Crkvena and Vrbas River. Old walls kindle imagination as the witnesses of battles, trade expeditions, ups and downs in city’s historical development. The fort is the oldest historical monument in Banja Luka, positioned on the very spot where the oldest remains of settlements in the city territory were found. It was raised to serve as a physical defence of people and their lives, whereas today it serves as a reminiscence of the culture and tradition of past times. The Cultural Center „Banski dvor“, the National Theater and the Children`s Theater of the Republic of Srpska, The Museum of the Republic of Srpska, the Museum of Modern Art of the Republic of Srpska, galleries and other numerous cultural events that take place throughout the whole year add to the city`s cultural offer.
„The Beauty on the Vrbas River“, just like the entire Balkans region, is a place where East meets West. This makes the city a mixture of religious communities and their places of worship. Special attractions are the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ the Savior and Ferhat Pasha Mosque in the city center, and the Catholic Marija Zvijezda Convent in Trapisti. Hospitable local population will help you get to know the rich city`s gastronomy, which offers a variety of traditional dishes, revealing a specific culture and customs of the surrounding rural area. Banja Luka has a rich night life and is known for many night clubs as well as numerous music festivals that take place in the city throughout the year.
The natural and cultural heritage of Banja Luka`s surroundings is verz attractive and includes the Vrbas River canyon and the plateau of Manjača Mountain, which is some 12 km away from the city center. Specific natural surroundings enabled the development of adventure sports as part of an integral tourist offer. Out of built capacities for this type of tourism, it is necessary to mention the infrastructure that enables night rafting as a global rarity and a basis of long-term planning of adventure tourism as a tourist product. Apart from rafting, there are canyoning, kayaking and dayaking, free climbing, mountain biking, hiking, quad biking, paragliding and tandem jumps.