Paklenica – the oldest national park

Note: Although the length of the trail is given for one direction, as we usually do when the trail is not circular, the duration is the total for both directions. When you add the driving time to that, you should certainly count on a trip to Paklenica being a full-day activity.

Paklenica is the prima donna of Croatian climbing and Croatia’s oldest national park. True, if we look strictly at the continuity of its designation, Plitvice has held that status uninterrupted since April 1949, and Paklenica only since October of the same year. However, Paklenica was first proclaimed a national park back in 1929, by an act that had to be ratified every year, which was not done, and due to this negligence the continuity of the status was lost.

There is probably not a single serious climber in Croatia who has not been to Paklenica, or who does not at least have it high on their wish list. Paklenica is a favourite destination for many foreign climbers too, who come here to “make their pilgrimage” year after year in ever greater numbers. Why Paklenica in particular?

Paklenica, a climbers’ paradise, but also a pleasant promenade for day-trippers of all age groups

There are Velika and Mala Paklenica. Mala Paklenica (“Little Paklenica”), as its name suggests, is smaller. It is also less exposed, being harder to pass through and more “wild.” The canyon was formed by a stream 12 km long, and the cliffs rise as high as 300 m. In places the width of the canyon narrows into passages just a few metres wide. For the sake of its preservation, climbing in the canyon is strictly forbidden. It is very interesting, so we will devote a separate article to it.

Velika Paklenica (“Great Paklenica”), on the other hand, as we already mentioned at the outset, teems with climbers on every side.

This is not one of those destinations where you have to hike for hours before it leaves you breathless (whether through difficulty or fascination). It is enough just to approach the entrance to the Park and everything will become clear. This is a special place that should certainly be experienced in person.

Imposing cliffs rise on both sides of the canyon, and the climbers can be seen as little dots on the cliffs at all heights and distances. After that entrance section, even more fascinating cliffs follow one after another – Maniti kuk, Anića kuk… The elevation differences reach up to 800 m (Crni vrh), with climbing verticals of 400 m each. That first encounter with Paklenica is something that stays in your memory forever!

After that first, distinctly rocky section, the trail continues on towards the mountain lodge, passing through landscapes that, although still within the canyon, change their appearance every so often. After a while, vistas begin to open up onto the distant peaks of the National Park to the north and northwest.

Somewhere around the fourth kilometre, on the left-hand side, there is a turn-off for the famous cave – Manita peć. A trail of some 1.7 km leads to it. Although it may not seem like much, 280 m of elevation gain is no small thing if you find the doors closed. So be sure to check at the info centre before setting off whether the cave is open for visits.

After some 6 km of walking, you reach the first point where you can have a more substantial refreshment. This is the forester’s house (the lugarnica), where there is something to be found for anyone who is not too fussy. Fažol (beans), sausages, pršut (prosciutto), cheese, various drinks…

After the refreshment, the trail continues on along the stream to the north. The trail is not a typical mountain path; its manicured state gives the impression that you are walking through some kind of landscaped forest park. Some will like this, but for others that cultivated feel can be a little dull.

The mountain lodge is reached after 7.5 km of walking. Although the trail can be covered in under 2 hours, with stops and admiring the scenery, plus a short rest at the lugarnica, it takes a little over 2.5 hours to reach the lodge.

Here the landscape changes dramatically. Greenery and openness on all sides are the main features of this place. This is the main junction of the hiking trails that lead onward into the Park in every direction.

Just a few hundred metres beyond the lodge, the widely known Ramića dvori and Ivančev dom are places of tasty marenda (mid-morning meal) and welcoming hosts. This is usually the final point even for the more “advanced” weekend day-trippers. If you know someone like that who tells you they have been to Paklenica, then this is it.

Paklenica, however, is only just beginning here!!!

This entire stretch from the entrance to the lodge is in fact a kind of backbone of the park, which branches out in all directions the whole way along. These hiking trails lead to some of the most incredible places that we would rank among the very top of the world’s hiking attractions. From caves and meadows to stone plateaus and spectacular crags, Paklenica is a place that can be explored for years. And only then can you perhaps say that you have been to Paklenica.

The Underground World of Paklenica

This interesting interactive visitor centre not far from the entrance to the Park is set within the bowels of a complex of tunnels that were dug out and fitted out during the former state as a huge military shelter. The heart of the mountain conceals almost two thousand square metres of tunnels and rooms.

Part of that complex has today been put to use for educating visitors. Here you can find artificial climbing walls, collections of rocks and plants, learn various ways of tying ropes, and listen to multimedia presentations or ones given by lecturers about the plant and animal life of this national park.

Besides its educational character, the centre provides shelter for members of the HGSS (the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service), for whom this is a starting point for rapid interventions in this area, of which there are quite a number owing to the park’s popularity and the intense activity of visitors.