Via Adriatica – Page 19: Green Croatia Hiking Trail

HIKING TRAILS: Over Mountains and Across Rivers

It's been a few months since the first Croat hiked the entire Via Adriatica, the first long-distance tourist- hiking trail which extends from Kamenjak in Istria to the border of Montenegro, to Prevlaka. Zlatko Mihocek from Međimurje has passed the 1,090 kilometers of the Via Adriatica in 44 days. Before him, the trail, which was traced over the last three years, was crossed by two Slovenian mountaineers last year.

Following the trail, Mihocek passed through three national parks (Risnjak, Northern Velebit and Paklenica), three nature parks (Biokovo, Velebit, Učka) and several protected areas.

Twelve Rivers Along the Trail

The Via Adriatica touches twelve rivers, and it goes through Učka, Risnjak, Velebit, Dinara, Svilaja, Kozjak, Poljička planina, Omiška Dinara, Biokovo, Pelješac, Srđ and Sniježnica-

Mihocek is a mountain guide, he guides people with special needs in the mountains. For example, he led the blind on Dinara. He had intended to hike the Via Adriatica when he retired, he said, in a year or two, but then he decided to do it this spring, he took the 17 days left his from last year's annual leave and this year's leave, and he set off.

Beautiful Rajčica Wells

He went from Prevlaka to Kamenjak, in a northerly direction. We asked what, in his opinion, the most beautiful parts were, because more and more people want to hike one or several sections of the Via Adriatica. Mihocek paused. Silently he tried to find the answer.

To highlight something. Finally, he said: - Honestly, everything. Everything was the most beautiful to me. Really. Everything is still very fresh to me, I haven't had time to sort my impressions yet.

Still, is there anything more beautiful than beautiful?

- Coming across the location of Rajčica Wells was really nice. A set of 10 wells in the Dalmatian hinterland, the time of creation of which is still unknown, each with a diameter of six to seven meters. Biokovo and Dinara, that was also special to me. The whole trail was special though.

I've been to Nepal, Ecuador, I've visited mountains in Europe, but what makes the Via Adriatica special are spectacular views of the sea it offers along almost all the trail. On one side there is the sea, on the other the continent. As you cross over the peaks,

you see both sides. Other countries do not have that. They only have hills.

The Via Adriatica is the first long-distance tourist-mountain trail which extends from Istrian Kamenjak all the way to the border of Montenegro, to Prevlaka. The Via Adriatica touches twelve rivers, and it goes through Učka, Risnjak, Velebit, Dinara, Svilaja, Kozjak, Poljička planina, Omiška Dinara, Biokovo, Pelješac, Srđ and Sniježnica-

Srećko Vukov, an enthusiast and adventurer from Zagreb and the initiator of the Via Adriatica, advises those who decide to cross one or several sections of the trail to choose those closer to populated areas because it makes the supply of food and water much easier.

on Velebit and stock up for a relatively demanding Dinara section.

the standards and regulations of the modern road construction.

200 Kilometers Across Velebit

- The first 70 kilometers pass through mostly populated areas of eastern Istria, touching small towns of Labin, Rabac, Raša, and Plomin. The sections of Risnjak, Vinodol and Velebit hinterlands, and Velebit and Dinara pass through the wilderness. The trail across Velebit is 200 kilometers long. Here, one should go down to villages for supplies or rely on logistics, since there are roads that cross the trail, where supplies can be delivered to hikers - says Vukov.

In unpopulated areas where the nearest civilization is a five-hour walk away, one should rely on what is in the backpack and plan well.

Halfway through the Via Adriatica there is the town of Knin, which is a good point to take a break from a strenuous hike

- After Dinara the trail continues to Kozjak, above Kaštela, the first of the last five sections that run along the coast, with populated areas an hour, or two at most, walk from the trail. Apart from the generally known places such as national parks, nature parks, forest parks, special reserves, the trail passes through smaller localities which are not protected by law, but coming across them is quite impressive, because of the natural beauty or their cultural and historical significance. The Via Adriatica enters Ston on Napoleon's road which hikers also encounter on Biokovo, above Brela. Majstorska road, at the foot of Tulove Grede in southern Velebit, connects Obrovac and Sveti Rok. The road is a masterpiece of the then construction, opened for traffic in 1832. With no road incline steeper than 5.5% it would meet

90 Million-Year-Old Tracks

There are many remains of shepherds' dwellings on Velebit, which testify to the way of life that people in that area once lived. In Dalmatian mountains there are many churches and chapels on ridges and peaks.

On Istrian Kamenjak, there are tracks of dinosaur footprints that are almost 90 million years old. At the top of Učka there is a tower from the Austro-Hungarian era. In the hinterland of Rijeka, the trail passes by the remains of the Liburnian Limes, a Roman wall from the 3rd and 4th century which once connected Rijeka and Prezid in the municipality of Čabar in the length of almost 30 kilometers. On Kozjak, there are army bunkers which once marked the border between the Independent State of Croatia and Italy, and the Illyrian cemeteries.