northern velebit national park

One of the wildest park in the balcans. For many years isolated much more than others, it gives a spectacular panorama of the north adriatic see , and a lot of internal paths . easily reacheable from the coast, you can try the street that starts from Jablanac a small beautifoul and wild road that leads to the heights. a perfect place where be alone with wild nature. unforgettable the view of the north croatia islands.

Our way was too long to describe it in one chapter!We slept in Senj in appartments Plaža. Next morning we started almost 300 km way accross the Velebit. FIrstly, we climbed to Krasno, where is a small shop, which is always opened.Than we continued to Northern Velebit National Park. The entrance fee is 45 kunas, but it lasts for three days :)Deeper in the park we hit this year`s first snow :), but it did not stop us :)After about 15 km of snowy road we hit the tarmack again.The next stop was mountain pass Veliki Alan, from where is a beautiful view to the Adriatic see and its islands.After that we continued to drive back into the deep forests of Velebit further "south". We drove under Štirovača and further on.to reach our next destination - Popovača, from where we continued to reach further into the deep forests of the Southeren part of Velebit, where one of the most interesting attraction is an old military base positioned on the top of the mountain with the beautiful view over the Adriatic see and its islands. The road to this destination is in very bad condtion and you shuld go there only with an Off road vehicle or with a SUV with big ground clearance.After this destination we turned to mountain pass Mali Alan, from which we descented on the dirt road to Starigrad Paklenica. Here we slept for antoher night.

National Park Northern Velebit - at this season is a great place for a leisurely walk, relax and enjoy in the beautiful autumn colors of forest, flowers and panorama that surrounds you. If you're lucky, except endemic flowers you may see rabbit and even a teddy bear:). Definitely climb on Zavižanj and enjoy in panoramic views of the Adriatic Sea and nearby islands (Rab, Krk, Goli). When you gou back, stop in the nearby village Krasno where you can buy excellent cheese and homemade brandy, which made of herbs from nearby forests.

I love nature and because that I love Northen Velebit NP. Particularly the view from the mountain house Zavižan. From there you can see a lot of island: Krk, Cres, Pag , Rab and some small one.If you like to hiking you can spend few day around. For me the most beautiful hiking trial is the 57 km long Premužić trial.

Great trip. A place for people who love nature must visit. Must be luck to get the clear weather but when is clear the whole area is right there.

Northern Velebit is where continental and Mediterranean climate meet. From what I have seen and from studying the maps very few such massive and high mountains are near the sea. Also being there offers impressive views of numerous island and bay on the coast. The meeting of climates, mountains and sea full of islands makes it worth a visit. Zavizanj is the place where there is alpine hut or more like a wooden building accessible by car - only 500 m to walk to it from parking. At the hut there is coffee and food.

Such a beautiful and preserved place to go hiking. We could spend there whole day.. I wish we had more time to stay in this beautiful park

Peaceful hikes are possible in this area. Sometimes the Adria is visible. Montain huts allow to stay overnight.

Northern Velebit National Park (Sjeverni Velebit in Croatian)Driving FROM KRASNO POLJE toward Sveti Juraj, then turning left toward the Babic Sica park entrance, then driving TO the ZAVIZAN HUT was no problem on May 29, 2012: there was NO SNOW on the road. We had planned this drive on the last possible day of our vacation in Croatia to minimize the risk of snow on the road.In the park entrance hut, the map was useful, the ranger helpful, and she sold a few souvenirs, including a few T-shirts, perhaps 2 designs and not every size.PARKING was easy below Zavizan Hut. There was a restroom and picnic tables. There was another restroom a little beyond the botanical garden entrance.WALKING STICKS (1-inch diameter tree branches) were available at the parking lot, leaning against a trail sign at the bottom of the steps up to the hut, and again at the start of the Premuzik Trail, leaning against a tree trunk. We "borrowed" some, then returned them at the end of the day.We walked from Zavizan Hut to the PREMUZIK TRAIL (Permuziceva Staza in Croatian), out, ate a picnic lunch sitting on rocks, walked further out for another while, then walked back. The trail was easy to walk on, as easy as walking on a gravel road or rocky road. It was never steep (never going up or down steeply) and it was always perfectly level (flat, with the left side no higher or lower than the right side). The portions of the trail that were a dirt trail through meadow and woods were maybe 2 feet to 2 meters wide, rocky, sometimes with tree roots (for example 3 inches in diameter) across. The portions of the trail that were made of rocks were maybe 2 meters wide (see photo). The surface was not smooth like a road, there were uneven stones. We had no topographic map, only 1-page trail maps from the web or from a guide book about walking in Croatia, and this was sufficient because the trail looks like a mini-road, so it was easy to stay on it. Walking off the trail is not allowed. Dogs are allowed on a leash. Tent camping is not allowed.The info boards along the trail were all only in Croatian.SAW austere grey-rocky mountainscapes that changed along the way, strangely eroded rocks (see photo), and only two other hikers all day, wildflowers, mammal feces, butterflies, grey snails matching the rock color, and one gorgeous chamois walking up the trail ahead of us, with a finely sculptured face striped dark and beige.Overall the hike was physically invigorating and mentally relaxing.The WEATHER changed from sunny and hazy (hazy view of islands in the Adriatic) to windy, cloudy, dark, many degrees (Celsius) colder, and threatening to rain... and back to sunny. Stunning contrast between black clouds and brightly sunny evergreen trees and grassy slopes, with the wind moving clouds, dark and light along like in a painting come alive.STAYING in Krasno Polje at Sumarska Kuca was perfect.DRIVING TO ZAGREB from Krasno Polje takes only half a leisurely day.Unfortunately, the Northern Velebit Nat'l Park is not covered in the Lonely Planet guide.

We went by car to Zavizan. From city Senj to Zavizan there was about 45min of pleasant mountain drive with beautiful sightseeings.You have to take all you need with you, because there are no shops, only Mountain Lodge.The view is absolutely magnificent, and on sunny days you can see all the way to Italy.There is a botanical garden with no admission fee, and it's very nice.Also there are a lot of mountain paths for walking and really clean and refreshing nature with pleasant temperatures during summer.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/577994510uVlMpDI go there at least every year, early summer and autumn, that is like heaver for anyone who lave nature, mountains and tracking. Track-"Premužićeva staza" is scenery , not to hard and get you opportunity to see all Kvarner bay with islands together with mountain wood, flowers and animals, including brown bear

Прекрасное место для любителей спокойных пеших прогулок. Особенно, когда у моря жара достигает 37-38) Очень немноголюдно, зелено из-за небольших высот, вполне освоенная тропа (Премуржицева стаза) с 30-х годов. Достойные виды провалов -- когда-нибудь до них доберётся Голливуд))Минус был только один -- добравшись на авто от Senj до входа в парк, обнаружили перекрытую дорогу дальше, соответственно от идеи вернуться к побережью через дальние границы с осмотром той же Завратницы не представилось возможным.