This turquoise gem has created fertile valleys from Glavaticevo to Doljani and upon which most life in the region thrives. The Neretva River has its beginnings in Zelengora Mountain in the Borac region and like all rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina the river initially flows towards the north, or, more precisely in this case, the northwest. In this upper section, the river forces its way between the massifs of the Visocica and Bjelasnica mountains in the north and the massifs of the Crvanj and Prenj Mountains in the south. It flows through numerous canyons and a smaller number of fertile valleys.

Unlike the other rivers in the country, the Neretva River does not succeed in forcing its way exclusively north. Passing to the north of the Prenj massif, the river turns south near the mouth of the tributary Rama. It then forces its way through the canyons between the Prenj and Cvrsnica mountains until it reaches the Mostar Valley where it loses the character of a rapid mountain river. The Neretva then pleasantly meanders through Capljina into the delta between the Croatian towns of Metkovic and Ploce, from where it flows into the crystal clear Adriatic Sea.