On the roads of ancient Berulia

In 950, the Byzantine emperor and chronicler Porphyrogenitus recorded that this area was home to Beroyllia, one of the four fortified towns of old Pagania. This is the first written record of the people of Brela.

The interpretive trail of ancient Berulija, within Biokovo Nature Park, leads from Gornja Brela past the church of Our Lady of Health all the way to the church of St. Nicholas. From there you can return the same way or continue along a circular trail that starts below the church on the right and rejoins the trail you came on some 450 m before the church of Our Lady of Health. The figures above are given for one direction.

The landscape near the end of the trail is spectacular and cannot be captured in photographs!

If you wish, you can extend the trail and continue to Nevistina stina by descending from the church of St. Nicholas into the valley and then climbing the hill opposite. From there you can descend into Brela along Napoleon’s Road, or continue east along the ridge to one of the more distant destinations on Biokovo.

The trail is full of information boards describing the way of life in these harsh areas. Along the way you will come across wells, threshing floors and other interesting stops. The trail is fairly easy, and one section even passes through a pine forest.

We appreciate the effort the tourist boards put into creating interpretive trails, of which there should be many more. Although to some people information boards may seem like nothing special, through them you can sometimes learn things that are not easily available even on the internet, and Berulija elegantly connects beautiful nature, a meaningful trail and cultural points of interest within a historical context.

The views from St. Nicholas are fantastic. To the east they open onto the impressive Biokovo massif, towards which a mountain trail also leads, while to the south the view extends across the valley to the neighbouring hill, on the far side of which lies Nevistina stina.