The steel cables bolted into Fortica Hill were installed in 2019, transforming a neglected Ottoman-era footpath into one of Herzegovina's first permanent via ferrata routes. Mount Hum rises 175 metres above the Neretva valley, and the fixed-line system now traces the northern face where artillery emplacements once commanded sightlines to the Old Bridge. The limestone is dense Triassic rock, fractured vertically by centuries of erosion, and the modern route exploits natural chimneys and ledges that shepherds used before the 1990s conflict left the hillside untraversable. Fortica Hill matters today because it anchors Mostar's post-war shift from reconstruction site to adventure destination. The via ferrata shares the summit with the glass-floored skywalk, opened in 2022, and the medieval Fortica fortress ruins that date to the 16th century when Ottoman garrisons monitored trade caravans crossing the Neretva gorge. The climbing route begins 80 metres below the skywalk platform, threading between scrub oak and exposed karst outcrops where iron rungs are spaced every two metres. The fixed cables follow three distinct pitches: a vertical chimney section with ladder steps, a traverse across a 15-metre wall with minimal footholds, and a final scramble to the summit ridge where the skywalk's steel cantilever juts over the valley. The via ferrata fortica mostar system uses EN 795 rated steel cables anchored into drilled bolts every three metres, a standard adopted from Alpine routes in Austria and Italy. Climbers wear chest harnesses and Y-lanyards with shock absorbers, and the route is graded K3 on the difficulty scale—intermediate exposure requiring basic upper-body strength but no prior technical climbing experience. The descent follows a separate trail on the southern slope, winding through pine cover past the ruined Habsburg-era barracks and re-entering the city at the northern edge of Blagaj Road. The route's popularity stems from its proximity to Mostar's centre—a 15-minute walk from Kujundžiluk bazaar—and the fact that it delivers vertical gain without the daylong commitment of Prenj or Čvrsnica alpine routes deeper in the Dinaric range. The skywalk and climbing infrastructure were financed by municipal funds and a European Bank loan aimed at diversifying tourism beyond the Old Bridge's narrow corridor. The Fortica name derives from the Italian fortezza, a linguistic remnant of Venetian influence in the Balkans, though the summit fortifications themselves were built under Suleiman the Magnificent's regional expansion. Today the via ferrata operates under the management of a local adventure company that holds the concession for equipment rental and guided ascents, while the hillside itself remains public land accessible without entry fees. The route sees heaviest use between April and October, when afternoon thermals cool the exposed rock and golden-hour light rakes across the Neretva basin, rendering the minarets and terracotta rooftops in sharp relief against the karst ridges to the west.