Paklenica provides everything that a mountaineering soul might wish for. Nine splendid hiking trails lead through the canyons and to the peaks, all the way to Veliko Rujno, Sveto brdo and Vaganski vrh as the highest peak of Velebit, providing an irresistible challenge to mountaineers. Those who visit the area will certainly wish to return. The trails 150 kilometers long in total range from easy to difficult, with each requiring mountaineering equipment.
Velika Paklenica canyon - Anića luka - Lugarnica - Paklenica Mountain Lodge
After a 20-minute climb from the parking lot in the Velika Paklenica canyon, one reaches Anića luka (250 m.a.s.l.). From there, it takes an additional hour and a half of hiking along an easy trail to reach the mountain lodge.
Trail length: 6km
Trail difficulty: Easy
Elevation difference: 400m
Recommended time of year for visit: Trail can be used throughout the year
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: Yes
Velika Paklenica – Anića luka – Manita peć
After a 20-minute climb from the parking lot in the Velika Paklenica canyon, one reaches Anića luka (250 m.a.s.l.). From there, it takes additional 10 minutes of hiking to reach the trail branching towards Manita peć. It takes 45 minutes to climb from the beginning of that branch to the cave itself. A viewpoint on top of the climb offers views of the surrounding peaks.
Trail length: 4km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty
Elevation difference: 450m
Recommended time of year for visit: The cave Manita peć is open from April to end-October according to defined schedule, and visit to the cave is recommended in that time of year.
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: No
Note: Opening hours of the cave Manita peć (10-13 hours): April - Saturdays; May - Wednesdays and Saturdays; June and October - Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays; July, August and September - every day
Manita peć – Zoljin kuk – Vidakov kuk – Tomići – Starigrad
After an hour and thirty minutes of climb from the Velika Paklenica canyon to the cave Manita peć, there is a further climb along the talus cones and rocks to Zoljin kuk and Vidakov kuk, taking an hour and a half from Manita peć in total. The peaks offer views of the mountain and the sea. What follows is a somewhat easier 40-minute section of the trail to the intersection towards Tomići, with approx. two and a half hours of downhill hiking remaining to Starigrad.
Trail length: 10km
Trail difficulty: Difficult
Elevation difference: 800m
Recommended time of year for visit: Spring / autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: No
Mala Paklenica - Njive Lekine - Grabove doline - Anića luka - Velika Paklenica canyon
Mala Paklenica entrance can be reached by car, and the Mala Paklenica canyon can be explored only by hiking. The trail largely follows the Mala Paklenica creek bed, and it is very demanding in some sections. After four and a half hours of hiking, the trail leads through the grasslands of Njive Lekine and Grabove doline for the next 45 minutes. What follows is an hour of relatively steep descent to the Velika Paklenica canyon.
Trail length: 12km
Trail difficulty: Difficult
Elevation difference: 650m
Recommended time of year for visit: Spring / autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: Yes
Note: The trail is not passable during the rainy period of the year.
Paklenica Mountain Lodge - M.Močila - Crni Vrh - V.Močila - Njive Lekine - Grabove doline (Jurline) - Velika Paklenica (canyon)
From the mountain lodge, the trail passes through beech and black pine forest to Mala Močila, with the climb taking one hour, and then continues through the forest towards Crni Vrh. From the beginning of the trail branch towards Crni Vrh to the peak itself, there is a 20-minute hard climb. One needs to return via the same trail back to the beginning of the branch, and continue towards Velika Močila for one hour. The part of the trail between Velika Močila and Njive Lekine offers a view of the Mala Paklenica canyon. From Njive Lekine to the Velika Paklenica canyon, there are two to two and a half hours of hiking, first on flattish terrain, and then downhill. Six hours of hiking in total.
Trail length: 10km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty
Elevation difference: 1000m
Recommended time of year for visit: Spring / summer / autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: No
Paklenica Mountain Lodge - Buljma - Struge - Marasovac
From the mountain lodge, the trail passes through beech forest to the Buljma pass, reached after approx. one and a half to two hours of hiking. The pass offers a view of the Velika Paklenica valley on the east, and the Veliko Rujno valley on the west. What follows is a descent towards the Struge valley, where a mountain shelter is located. The section from Struge to Marasovac requires 20 more minutes of easy hiking across mountain grasslands. There is drinking water on Marasovac.
Trail length: 6.5km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty
Elevation difference: 990m
Recommended time of year for visit: Summer / autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: Yes
Struge – Marasovac – Vaganski vrh – Lipa staza – V. Paklenica
The trail from the Struge mountain shelter to Marasovac leads through mountain grasslands, with interchanging climbs and level sections, grasslands and talus cones, taking two and a half to three hours to reach Vaganski vrh, the highest peak of Velebit. The quickest way to go from Vaganski vrh to the Velika Paklenica canyon is by taking the trail of Lipa staza, steeply descending to the canyon in the form of a long talus cone. The total hiking duration is 7 hours.
Trail length: 8.5km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty / difficult
Elevation difference: 1250m
Recommended time of year for visit: Late spring / early autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: Yes
Paklenica Mountain Lodge - Ivine vodice - Sveto Brdo
The trail from the Struge mountain shelter to Marasovac leads through mountain grasslands, with interchanging climbs and level sections, grasslands and talus cones, taking two and a half to three hours to reach Vaganski vrh. The trail then continues along mountain grassland terrain to Malovanski stanovi, and then via a long talus cone Zla ploča to the grassland Čičina dolina. A climb to Sveto brdo follows from there. The total hiking duration is 6 hours. The trail offers panorama views of the valley of Velika Paklenica and the surrounding dolines and peaks.
Trail length: 12km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty
Elevation difference: 400m
Recommended time of year for visit: Summer / early autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: No
Note: The trail is largely exposed to the sun, which is particularly strong at that altitude.
Planinarski dom Paklenica – Ivine vodice – Sveto brdo
It takes two and a half hours to reach Ivine vodice from the mountain lodge, and the trail passes through beech forest and mixed beech and black pine forest. The trail passes along the Velika Paklenica creek, offering views of Babin kuk through the crowns of trees. There is a mountain shelter at Ivine vodice, with a water source next to it that sometimes runs dry in the summer.
From Ivine vodice onwards, a steep trail leads through old beech forest to meadows of Čičina dolina, with one more hour of hiking to get to Sveto brdo. High mountain meadows, rich in various plant species, are particularly interesting in May and June, intertwined with rocky terrain and large rocks. A steep climb towards Sveto brdo at 1753 m.a.s.l. takes approximately 45 minutes, offering an unforgettable view of the region of Lika and northern Dalmatia and its islands.
Trail length: 10km
Trail difficulty: Medium difficulty
Elevation difference: 1250m
Recommended time of year for visit: Spring / autumn
Accessible to persons with disabilities: No
Recommended equipment: Hiking equipment recommended (hiking footwear and clothes, backpack, personal accessories, food and water, sun protection)
Availability of drinking water: Yes