- Distance: 20km
- Duration (with breaks): 8h 30min
- Route type: to the top and back
- Start/end: parking lot of Paklenica national park
- Difficulty: moderate
- When to hike: all year round
Paklenica national park
This national park, located ~50km from Zadar, is a go-to place for hikers and climbers. Two beautiful canyons of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica will keep you busy and ensure stunning views all around the park. There are several lodges and shelters with basic facilities in the park, so the park can be explored on a multi-day trip.
How to get there?
By car: the entrance to the park is close to Starigrad Paklenica, from which you’ll see a sign to the park. A beautiful road along a river will lead you to the entrance of the park, where you will get the tickets (yes, it’s not free) and continue to the parking lot. There are several places to park your car. In May we got a spot in the parking lot closest to the trail as we were early.
By public transport: there are buses to Starigrad Paklenica, from where you can walk to the park.
So how was it?
In the beginning, the path follows the Velika Paklenica river with several little cascades. This is also where trees will provide you shade, which is very welcome in summer. After ~2 hours we reached Planinarski dom, probably the most established hut in the park. It’s a great place for a break as there are several benches.
From the hut there are several paths to follow, we chose Planinarski dom – Buljma as I hoped to make a loop on the high parts of the park. Hint: way too optimistic.
As the park gradually opened up to us, the route turned from a well-established path to a sea of boulders. Those boulders soon turned into a wall, which is supposedly a route to follow. We went scrambling on it for a bit but soon decided this is enough for us. We did not feel comfortable continuing without any safety gear (at least to us it looked like a trail that requires climbing equipment). Besides we’ve been hiking for a few hours already and still needed to go back, so this wall was our turning point. We followed the same root back to the car.
Overall it was a great day trip. We had stunning views of the coastal side of the park and the Adriatic sea. I don’t think we met anyone else hiking on the higher parts, so the trail is all yours to explore. Probably the majority of the visitors come for the climbing routes, which are very cool in this park.
Fun fact or why it is a Lizard walk.
Once above the tree line, the path is full of lizards, all sorts of lizards. I’m one of those people that are spooked by anything moving, so this hike was very entertaining for my boyfriend. This national park is a lizard kingdom!
Tips
- If I came back, I'd go in late spring or autumn as summer might be too hot.
- The trail is very exposed once above the tree line, so make sure you have enough water and a hat.