St. George – Gradac Hill

Omiš, a picturesque Dalmatian town, surrounded by the sea on one side and by cliffs that loom very dramatically over it on the other. It was right here that the mythical Laestrygonians destroyed Odysseus’s fleet as it attempted to pass, uninvited, through the gap in the cliffs that the Cetina carved for itself on its way to the sea. That passage is the entrance to a fairy-tale world of the Omiš hinterland, which is just as beautiful and fascinating as the maritime one on the other side of the cliffs.

Gradac hill looks out onto that very passage from the interior. On it stands the church of St. George, patron saint of Poljica, in front of which the people of the Poljica Republic elected their dukes on St. George’s Day for centuries.

A short walk through the pine forest brings you to the plateau in front of the church, and it immediately becomes clear that you have arrived at a very special place. The “altar” in front of the church looks like a mythical place of coronation, and as you approach it, spectacular views of the canyon, the Cetina and the gap through which the sea can be seen open up behind it.

If you set off from Split to Omiš in summer, the route via Žrnovnica, Srinjine and Tugare to Gata is certainly a wiser choice than the traffic-clogged Adriatic coastal highway. Gradac hill is the last point on that route, after which the road suddenly begins to descend into the canyon toward the Cetina.

From the church the trail continues east, right along the edge of the cliff, and later joins, to the north, a gravel road by which you return toward the road. Alongside the road there is a beaten path, protected by a guardrail, that returns to the car park, thereby making the trail a loop.

This location is addictive, because no matter how many times you visit it, each time fascinates like the first. The peace and quiet of this place are enchanting, and the urban devastation of the settlements along the river is just enough to bring you back to reality and get you moving on, because the wonders of the Cetina are only just beginning here!