Why we’re obsessing over the Balkans right now: 5 destinations to visit before the crowds arrive

A region of mountains, beaches, waterfalls and wonder, the Balkans feel like West shading into East. You can taste it in the food and hear it when different religions pray. The cognoscenti have been heading to these eccentric nations for years, lured by lower costs and visitor numbers compared with Western Europe – but travel insiders are only just cottoning on.

I have been visiting the Balkans for a decade. I’ve enjoyed hanging out of the window of a smoky train carriage clattering…