Parco Naturale Velebit

The magnificent Velebit mountain range, together with the two national parks Paklenica and Northern Velebit, is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and protected as a nature park. In addition to the beautiful national parks, the Velebit Nature Park features many sites of natural beauty such as the forest vegetation reserve Štirovača, the geomorphological nature monument Cerovačka špilja, the paleontological nature monument Velnačka glavica and many other natural attractions within it. Bay Zavratnica, which was declared a significant landscape, belongs also to the nature park and is definitely worth a visit. The mountain’s coastal slopes are rocky with a barren landscape, sporadically dotted with only small areas of greenery, while the inland slopes with their lush dark green forests are much more gentle and scenic.

There are four educational trails in the Velebit Nature Park. The Zavratnica educational trail leads to one of the most beautiful bays of the Adriatic coast, Zavratnica Bay. The trail “Kudin most” is named after the oldest preserved bridge crossing over the river Krupa, which was built in the dry-stone wall technique. It runs along beautiful waterfalls and fairy-tale travertine cascades in the river Krupa. The educational trail from Starigrad Senjski to Donja Klada passes along roads that vividly display the building tradition of this area, while the fourth trail called Theresiana is part of an Austro-Hungarian road from the 18th century. Worth visiting within the park are also the Cerovac caves, which are rich in archaeological finds. The Velebit Nature Park provides all nature lovers with safe shelter in numerous mountain lodges: Ravni Dabar, Prpa, Sijaset, Oltari, Careva kuća, Apatišan, Mrkvište, Miroslav Hirtz, Kugina kuća, Kata, Vila Velebit, Sveti Josip. If you are looking for pristine and somewhat wild nature, do not miss a visit to the magnificent Velebit Nature Park.