St. George on Kozjak Mountain
Location: Blaca, SolinLength: 1,6 kmElevation gain: 145 mDifficulty: EasyDifficulty rating: K1, T1, VR1
Mount Kozjak is one of the nearest day-trip destinations for the people of Split. It stretches along the northern side of Kaštela, ending in the east at Klis and Solin. It is always in the shadow of the magnificent Mosor when it comes to hiking and spending time in untouched nature, but it too has its trump cards. It is known for its climbing routes in the area of Greda, the largest rock face in Croatia, while Kozjak’s main assets are its proximity, its accessibility by car (to the mountain hut and lodge at Malačka, for example), and the spectacular close-up views of Split and the Split aquatorium.
One such spot, characterised by both easy accessibility and spectacular views, is ideal for a short trip, even in bad weather. This is the little church of St. George on the peak of the same name, 676 m high.
The lovely sunny weather, of which Dalmatia has plenty, can get a little boring. “Bad” weather has its own charms in the freshness and drama it offers, and locations like this are ideal for short trips without much risk of being caught in a downpour, since you can get back to your car in a short time.
We left the car at the junction where the road towards the church begins. The first part of the road is paved, but it then turns into rutted gravel and is not suitable for driving, except by an off-road vehicle or a dual-sport motorcycle.
After about 600 m, a hiking trail running parallel to the road begins, allowing you to shorten the route even further.
The whole area is full of bunkers, which protected the approaches to Klis through the gorge that runs at the foot of the northern side of the hill. During the climb, on the left you can also see bunkers guarding a smaller peak (Tureta), which offers an interesting view to the east.
The St. George chapel sits on the summit, but it is not in a prominent position, as is usually the case with peaks in Dalmatia.
To reach the viewpoints you need to walk a little along the edges of the ridge that surrounds the church. This whole plateau at the top is about 100 m long. Besides the church, there is also a relay tower and a series of smaller concrete structures with no purpose or meaning which, covered in graffiti, needlessly disfigure the surroundings. At two prominent spots to the west, two stone tables with benches have been built.
We do not know of a single other table where you can have lunch with such a spectacular view!
The view extends towards Trogir to the west and Split to the south. Beyond the island of Čiovo you can see Drvenik Veli and Šolta, as well as Brač and Hvar. A prominent spot is taken by the small island of Stipanska, between Šolta and Drvenik.
From the eastern side of the plateau the views stretch across Solin towards Mosor, Perun and on towards Biokovo.
St. George on Kozjak is an ideal place for a short trip into nature, with spectacular views from the top of the ridge
Special
Although our focus is on Croatia, due to great interest in reviewing some international locations from our travels, we decided to launch the Special section. In it, we will not cover locations in the same detailed way we do with Croatian ones, but will instead provide a brief overview of multiple locations grouped into meaningful categories. The only criterion we still strictly follow is that they must be natural attractions.