Croatia is a hiker’s paradise, with hundreds of diverse routes and trails for outdoor adventurers of all ages and levels of experience. Slopes do not reach above 2,000 metres but they provide enough challenges and amazing views to make any climb worthwhile.
There’s also an extensive network of huts if you wish to stay over on your visit, information boards and a safety infrastructure in place should you run into trouble. Remember to take the right equipment and plenty of water. The ideal time for hiking on the slopes is in autumn, when it’s not too hot during the day, nor too cold higher up.
Paklenica National Park
Within easy reach of Zadar and the Adriatic, Paklenica is just south of the Velebit range, Croatia’s largest, and covers an area of some 100 square kilometres. Within are nearly 600 signposted routes of varying degrees of difficulty, with peaks up to 1,757 metres high and two extensive canyons, Velika and Mala Paklenica, of 14km and 12km in length.
The narrowest section of Velika Paklenica is where you find Klanci, ideal for families to tackle together, while the most famous rock is Anića kuk, 350 metres high, with some routes suitable for those who prefer to tackle it unaided.
Depending on how high you climb, you may see eagles, owls, deer and even lynx.
Northern Velebit
A protected area since 1999, this is one of Croatia’s newest national parks and serves as starting point of the Premužić Trail, the most scenic hike in the country.
The Velebit mountain chain runs along the landward side of the Kvarner Gulf for almost 150km north to south. This forbidding and inhospitable wall of jagged grey peaks provide a dramatic hiking itinerary, winding its way from one side of the Northern Velebit’s central ridge to the other. With deciduous forests cloaking the eastern side and prickly Mediterranean scrub covering the slopes to the west, the full variety of Croatia’s diverse highland flora is on display.
The most popular stretch of the trail, and the one that can be easily attempted as part of a day trip, is the northern end, which starts just south of the Zavižan meteorological station and runs to Rossijeva koliba, an unmanned mountain refuge two or three hours’ walk away. It’s a truly stunning trek, the scenery changing with every twist and turn of the path, with sudden glimpses of the Adriatic in between.
Gorski kotar
The most densely forested region in Croatia, Gorski kotar features soaring peaks, lush valleys and spectacular wildlife. Containing the Risnjak National Park, and the protected natural phenomenon of Vrazji prolaz and Zeleni vir, it attracts hikers, climbers, botanists and spelunkers, but also offers welcome respite from the summer crowds on the coast only 15km away.
The Risnjak massif that dominates the national park of the same name is named after the lynx (ris in Croatian) that roam here, sharing 6,400 unspoiled hectares with brown bears, wild cats, chamois and eagles. Alpine snowbells, edelweiss and black vanilla orchids dot a karst landscape at this crossing point of coastal and continental climates. Four mountains stand at over 1,400 metres (4,600 feet), providing phenomenal views from the slopes.
A well-marked footpath, with descriptions in English and Croatian, leads from the pretty village of Crni Lug, site of the National Park office and main entrance, around the forest for 4.5km (2.8 miles). From the same starting point, the more adventurous can set off on another, steeper trail up to the park’s highest point of Veliki Risnjak.
Medvednica
Thanks to its proximity to the capital, Zagreb, Medvednica Nature Park has been a popular hiking destination for generations.
Autumn weekends see families taking to the many well-marked trails, the most popular being Leustek leading towards the highest peak of Sljeme, and from Gračani, that leads through a tunnel to Puntijarka, a mountain lodge nearly 1,000 metres high.
The great advantage is that you can leave the city centre by tram or bus and reach a stop from which you can start your hike – there’s no need to drive. Several places offer hot food, including Puntijarka itself, most notably mlinci, flatbread with poultry, the perfect reward after a hard morning’s hike.
This article is sponsored by The Croatian National Tourism Board: 'Croatia Full of Life'.
