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Dinara, near source of Cetina river

Dinara is one of the more prominent mountains located on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its Latin name is Adrian oros while the current name is suspected to be derived from the name of an ancient Illyrian tribe that lived on the eastern slopes of the mountain.

It is best known for the fact that its name is the base for the name of a large mountain chain called the Dinaric Alps or Dinarides. The Dinarides are known for being composed of karst — limestone rocks — as is the mountain that named them.

Dinara itself spans from the Derala mountain pass (965 m) in the northwest to the Privija pass (1230 m) which is 20 km to the southeast, where the Kamešnica Mountain begins. The Dinara Mountain is up to 10 km wide. The highest peaks are Troglav (1913 m) ("Threehead") and Dinara (1831 m). The peak called Dinara is shaped like a human head made of stone, and it happens to be the highest peak of Croatia.

Despite the fact it is only a few dozen kilometers away from the Adriatic Sea, the climate on Dinara is hardly Mediterranean. In fact, Dinara marks the border of the area with a much colder, mountain climate. There are no inhabited areas on the mountain itself and human presence consists mostly of small shacks that belong to the herdsmen from the nearby valleys such as that of the Cetina river.

One of the most fascinating massifs is on the southwestern slope. It is six kilometers long and up to 1700 meters high, providing an interesting landscape for the travelers on the roads in the valley below to view. The massif does not attract many climbers, which prefer only its Ošljak peak (1706 m).

Dinara is host to an endemic species of rodents, a vole called "Dinarski miš" ("Dinaric mouse"), Dolomys bogdanovi longipedis from the genus Dinaromys, which is declared an endangered species.

• Photographs and climbing information.

Coordinates: 44.056° N 16.381° E