Mostar's Stari Most (Old Bridge) stands there beautifully, attracting loads of tourists every year from photographers to backpackers. And in more recent years, brave travellers prepared to attempt the 20-ish metre jump into the vibrant Neretva River.

A bit of history

The Old Bridge was built in the 16th century when Bosnia was ruled under the Ottoman Empire. It stood for over 400 years until it was destroyed in 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak war. Thanks to international support it was rebuilt again as an exact replica of the original and it was finally completed in 2004.

Jumping from the bridge was an old right of passage for local men. Though now, quite possibly after many injuries, many locals say it's idiotic.

Rightly so. The water is a chilly 15°C, the drop is 20-24 metres (depending on the water level) and it's the reason some have lost their lives and many others been injured.

So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when my husband decided he wanted to do it.

The view looking out from the bridge

How to prepare for the jump

The one thing that was comforting was knowing that in order to jump you need to get the proper training. It’s mandatory to get trained because at that height you could really injure yourself if you don’t hit the water properly. Not to mention you could have a heart attack plunging into the cold river as a major temperature contrast to the hot day. This is supposedly how one of the recorded deaths occurred.

The diver's club charges 25€ for this, and although you may think you shouldn't have to pay to jump off a brudge, realise that these guys know this bridge. They live it and breathe it and if you were going to attempt anything so serious you'd want to get the right people to show you how. If after the practice jumps you decide you don’t want to go through with the big one, then you only pay 10€.

All you really need to bring is a swimsuit that won't come off or ride up as you hit the water and a towel. The rest of the preparation lies in the training.​

The club had a big book filled with over 1000 signatures from people around the world who had jumped successfully. The Australian comedian/TV presenter duo, Hamish & Andy tried it themselves during their TV series Euro Trip and left many eager/stupid Australians wanting to give it a go. Here is their hilarious video:

How to find the trainers

I'm sure you won't miss them, they're the guys walking around in the swimming trunks. But if you don't see them, go to the middle of the Old Bridge, look out to the mosque (pictured below) and walk to the left. At the beginning of the bridge there's a souvenir shop, the lady in there can help you.

If you're keen on seeing it live but can't convince any of your friends to try it, you can watch the trainers go. If they bring in enough of a crowd willing to pay to see them jump, they’ll do it. 

The view of the mosque from the bridge

The jump!

Here's a picture of Guy practicing on the smaller platforms. The trainer is there to show him the correct technique. I was pretty far away so the image quality isn’t great, but if you look closely you can see his feet just touching the water.

And he made it to the big one...keep scrolling...

Watch the video on Instagram