Holidays to Konavle Valley

Situated between the Adriatic Sea and the Snijeznica mountain, it has a dreamlike, almost fairy tale look. It is dotted with tiny villages and traditional hamlets, old stone walls, vineyards, fruit and olive groves, Cypress and pine trees.

Although within easy reach of famous Dubrovnik, it feels like a world away.

Traditions are important here and many local people (especially older people) wear traditional costume at weekends and the availability of ladies may be noted by the colour of the band on their headdress: widowed, divorced, married, engaged or single! Fabric design follows the traditions so wheels feature in sewn items reflect the importance of round stones in local water mills.

Lovorno is a typical small village of the Konavle Valley

Did you know?

• A wonderful restaurant, the Konavoski Dvori Eco Green restaurant (about 10 minutes’ drive from Villa Kameni Dvori) is situated in the grounds of an ancient mill right next to the tumbling crystal-clear waters of the Ljuta river. Worth a visit for traditional Konavle fare including “peka”, meat or fish cooked for hours on embers under a metal bell
• A tradition of Konavle which has been reintroduced in recent years is that of the silkworm.
• It may have originated in China around 2850 BC but the women of Konavle took this to their heart in the 15th century and became expert at breeding silkworms and using the silk to make beautiful items. The tradition had more or less died out until a group of women restarted the project a few years ago. Look out for silk in embroidery.
• Horseriding is not widespread in Croatia yet there are three good places in Konavle Valley offering riding with panoramic sea views and even a five-hour ride including optional swim stop in the river Ljuta
• Villa Kameni Dvori, our featured property in Lovorno offers a rather unusual experience which may appeal to city folk. The owners of a nearby farm are good friends of the Villa owners and they allow guests to come and learn how to milk one of the goats at the farm. There is a charge and this can be incorporated into the cookery lessons on offer. The farm supplies the villa with goat cheese.