Inhabiting high, isolated areas was the tradition of the first settlers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vlasic was not only home to old Illyrian highlanders and followers of the medieval Bosnian Church but also to a large shepherd community that continues to live off the fertile lands across the vast plateau of Vlasic Mountain.
The lives of the highlanders were dramatically affected by the recent conflict and many of them were forced to abandon the lifestyles that they and their ancestors had enjoyed for centuries.
However, much of that life has now returned to Vlasic and the highlanders have resumed their age-old customs of sheep-raising and cheese production.