Zavratnica cove

Zavratnica is one of the most beautiful coves we have ever seen! It is not one of those that lure you straight into the water, like Dubovica on Hvar or Vrulja between Pisak and Brela, but it is extraordinary in every way. Each of them is special in its own way and there is no comparing them.

What makes Zavratnica special is clear from the viewpoint that lets you take it in from a bird’s-eye view. A narrow road leads up to the viewpoint, turning to gravel towards the end and finishing in a spacious car park (44.699151531632204, 14.905428614455749). The viewpoint is properly laid out, with a railing, an information board and everything that makes a decent viewpoint “official” these days. The view from above is fantastic, and if you are lucky enough to be there alone, you will hear the silence rising from the depths below. The occasional call of a bird circling among the cliffs only sharpens that sense of silence.

Zavratnica is a protected significant landscape and part of the Velebit Nature Park

The viewpoint, though, is only a small part of the story Zavratnica has to tell. To hear the whole story you have to go down into the cove itself and walk the path that runs along the sea for its entire length!

Those after a bit more exercise can descend into the cove on the hiking trail that starts at the viewpoint itself – go back some 100 m across the car park and turn left. The trail is relatively steep in places, about 1.4 km long with around 130 m of descent. The hiking trail comes out at the deepest point of the cove, where it joins the footpath that runs around it.

We opted for the easier way, entering the cove from the sea side. There are two options here. One is to leave the car in the village of Jablanac and set off from the start of the footpath; the other is to park on the last hairpin down to Jablanac and join the path in the cove itself via the Belveder(e) fort / viewpoint. This is a one-way road that loops from the coastal highway through Jablanac, one lane of which is used by hikers, but which also seems to have served vehicles queuing for the ferry to Rab (we say “queuing”, because as far as we can see there is no longer an official service from Jablanac, but from Stinica, 2 km away ?!). We chose this last option and parked the car here: 44.70198553492203, 14.895637210221848

There is an official hiking trail here too, starting some 200 m before the place where we parked, but we chose the steeper short cut up to the Belvedere.

The Belvedere offers a beautiful view of the sea and part of the cove, and from it a path runs downhill, joining after some 220 m the footpath that follows the sea around the whole inlet.

Along the path you will also come across a hut where tickets are sold. The price is nominal, and although the charge annoys some people, if it benefits the local community and the upkeep of the Nature Park, we are all for it!

The cove itself is incredible! Bend after bend opens up new views, and the sight of the sea winding between the cliffs is out of the ordinary. Whoever built the path and the retaining walls against rockfall did a first-rate job, both aesthetically and practically. We like it when the intervention in nature is minimal and discreet, using materials from the surroundings.

The cliffs towering over the sea are impressive and hard to capture in photographs, which lose all sense of scale. That is why places like this look far better in the flesh.

Once you get deeper into the inlet, a sunken German warship can be seen in the shallows beside the path. Personally we were not fascinated by it, and the inlet would be lovelier without it.

You will also come across a memorial plaque to Vjenceslav Novak, who wrote his works here in peace and quiet.

The deepest point of the cove, where the descent of the hiking trail from that first viewpoint ends, is shaded by pines, and there are a couple of wooden buildings, a toilet and benches to rest on. The cove is some 900 m deep and between 50 and 150 m wide.

On the way back we did not climb over the Belvedere again but carried on towards Jablanac. That stretch takes you through a pedestrian tunnel that was great fun for the children and for us older ones too.

Once out of the tunnel, the path carries on along the open sea with a view towards Rab. We did not go all the way, though, but took a steep short cut up to the spot where we had parked.

Zavratnica is in a slightly awkward spot. It is far from the main routes and the motorway, so it has never been on our way. But it is so beautiful and so special that it is worth a detour from any travel route. This is a place every true nature lover should see with their own eyes. It goes well with a trip to Rab, but our recommendation is to visit outside the summer season, when the place is surely swarming with boats and swimmers. The summer bustle would certainly take something away from this magical spot. If you want to see it in full sun, without the shadows of the high cliffs, around midday or early afternoon will be ideal.