Sustainable Travel · Bosnia and Herzegovina
Eco-Friendly Hotels in Una National Park — Your 2026 Guide to Sustainable Stays
Una National Park protects the most beautiful river in the Balkans — the Una, whose name simply means 'the one'. Established in 2008 around the Bosnian-Croatian border, the park guards 200 square kilometres of emerald water, waterfalls and forest along the Una and its tributary the Unac, in one of Europe's last truly wild river valleys. The centrepiece is Štrbački buk, a 24-metre cascade where the whole river pours over a limestone lip into a turquoise cauldron — the largest waterfall in the Balkans after the Plitvice falls. Around it: rafting through forested gorges, fly-fishing for huchen, medieval fortresses at Ostrožac and Kulen Vakuf, and villages where life still follows the river. Book through IMPT and every night removes 1 tonne of verified CO₂ — the same price as Booking.com.
Štrbački buk and the Emerald Una
Štrbački buk is the park's must-see: a 24-metre, 70-metre-wide waterfall that thunders into a deep turquoise pool, with wooden viewing platforms letting you feel the spray. Below the falls, the Una's colour — an unreal shade of emerald-green from dissolved limestone — is at its most intense. A riverside trail connects the falls with Martin Brod, where the Unac joins the Una beneath the ruins of a medieval town, and with the source of the Unac, which rises from a cave at the foot of a cliff.
Rafting is the classic way to experience the park: the Una's rapids run from grades II to IV depending on the season, through gorges where herons, kingfishers and otters are common. For a gentler trip, kayak the calm stretches between Kulen Vakuf and Štrbački buk, or swim in the deep pools — in summer the water is cold, clear and impossibly inviting. The park also protects brown bear, lynx and griffon vultures in the surrounding forests and cliffs.
Fortresses, Villages and the Unac Gorge
History here is inseparable from the landscape. Ostrožac Castle, a 16th-century Ottoman fortress on a hill above the Una near the park's edge, is the finest in the region, with courtyards open to visitors. Kulen Vakuf, the park's gateway village, guards the entrance to the canyon and hosts the annual Una Regatta — one of the Balkans' biggest river parties, when hundreds of rafts float downstream for three days in July.
The Unac gorge offers the park's wildest walking: a trail follows the river past travertine terraces and waterfalls to the source cave, and side routes climb into the karst hills for views over the whole valley. In autumn, the beech and oak forests turn gold against the green water; in spring, snowmelt doubles the volume of every waterfall. Camping is allowed at designated sites, and simple guesthouses and hostels operate in Kulen Vakuf, Martin Brod and nearby Bihać.
Where to Stay and How to Visit
Bihać, the regional capital, is the main base (rooms from about €28 a night), with Kulen Vakuf and Martin Brod offering riverside guesthouses inside the park. From Bihać, the park is a 30–40 minute drive; from Zagreb it's about 2.5 hours, and from Sarajevo about 4. Public buses run from Bihać to Kulen Vakuf, but a car makes the park's scattered sights far easier to reach.
Book through IMPT and the same rooms cost the same as Booking.com, while 1 tonne of UN-verified CO₂ is retired per booking on Ethereum — 28 times the roughly 35 kg an average hotel night produces. New members get €5 free credit, and every stay earns 5% back (3% into carbon projects, 2% as travel credit). Shop through IMPT's partners for up to 12% cashback on outdoor gear, and gift a trip credit to the river-lover in your life.
How IMPT Makes Your Una National Park Stay Carbon-Negative
Here's the maths. An average hotel night produces roughly 35 kg of CO₂ — from air conditioning, laundry, lighting, and food service. When you book any Una National Park hotel through IMPT, we retire 1,000 kg of UN-verified carbon removal credits. That's 28 times what your stay produces. Not carbon-neutral — carbon-negative.
The cost to you? Zero. IMPT funds the removal from its booking commission. You pay the standard nightly rate — in fact, IMPT offers the same rate as Booking.com on the same room, with carbon removal built in. The carbon credits are tokenised on Ethereum, retired against a named project, with a public retire code anyone can verify. No double-counting. No greenwashing. Just verified carbon removal, every night.
- €5 free credit when you sign up — applied to your first Una National Park booking
- 5% back on every stay — 3% funds carbon projects, 2% as travel credit
- 8M+ hotels worldwide, 195 countries — Una National Park is just the start
- Free cancellation on most rates, typically up to 48 hours before check-in
Beyond Hotels — More Ways IMPT Works in Una National Park
Shop through IMPT's 25,000+ retail partners for up to cashback on purchases that also offset carbon. Send someone a trip credit gift to visit Una National Park — IMPT plants trees with named farmers, GPS-tagged and photo-verified.
For business travel, IMPT's B2B Corporate Travel platform gives you exclusive rates, automatic ESG reporting, and a single dashboard tracking every booking's carbon impact. Companies with CSRD compliance needs get automated sustainability reporting out of the box.
Interested in running IMPT in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Country Ownership offers 50% revenue share on every transaction from Bosnia and Herzegovina-registered users, with 8% APY staking yield. Book a call →
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Una National Park?
Una National Park is in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina, along the Una river near the Croatian border, about 30 km from Bihać. The main entrance points are Kulen Vakuf and Martin Brod; Zagreb is about 2.5 hours away by car.
What is the biggest waterfall in Una National Park?
Štrbački buk — a 24-metre, 70-metre-wide waterfall on the Una near Kulen Vakuf, the largest waterfall in the Balkans after Plitvice. Wooden platforms give close views, and a riverside trail connects it with Martin Brod and the source of the Unac river.
Can you swim and raft in the Una river?
Yes — the Una's deep turquoise pools are perfect for swimming in summer, and rafting is the park's signature activity, with rapids from grade II to IV depending on season. Gentler kayak trips run between Kulen Vakuf and the falls, and fly-fishing for huchen (Danube salmon) is world-famous here.
What is the best time to visit Una National Park?
May–September for rafting, swimming and hiking, with July's Una Regatta the highlight of the summer calendar. Spring brings the highest water levels and most dramatic waterfalls; autumn colours are spectacular in October. Winter is quiet, with frozen falls and empty trails.
Where should I stay when visiting Una National Park?
Bihać (rooms from about €28/night) is the most convenient base with the widest choice; Kulen Vakuf and Martin Brod have small riverside guesthouses right inside the park. Book through IMPT the same price as Booking.com and every booking removes 1 tonne of CO₂.
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