Luna Explores Europe
A Lesson in Limits: Starigrad Paklenica
I'd like to think all people have their own place of comfort. A nostalgic retreat we can return to in order to bask in old memories; but also versatile enough to continuously make new ones. For some people this place can be as nearby as home sweet home. For me, the county of Zadar is that place. Zadar has a lot to offer for tourists of all types. The city of Zadar itself is noteworthy for its historical significance as one of the oldest settlements in all of Croatia, and well worth visiting. Despite this, my interest is drawn to the slightly more northern and very much unassuming town of Starigrad.
Starigrad is at first glance quite the charming Adriatic coastal town. With lovely pebble beaches and campings galore, it's a veritable wanderer's paradise.
However, whilst bobbing in the water and indeed even when approaching by bus or on foot, Starigrad's real draw is unmistakable; the gigantic canyons that shear open the otherwise impassible looking mountains. Croatia's unique coastline consists of rocky beaches, a few kilometers of arid flatlands followed closely by the Velebit mountains. This national park has always existed as a mythological place in my mind. The canyons act like a gateway into another world, far from the sound waves lapping at the rocks and people dining by seaside restaurants.
The first kilometer past the canyon mouth consists of a winding forest road to the park entrance, followed by a grueling climb upwards to the first plateau. I highly recommend bringing both a physical map and a GPS-assisted digital map to help navigate. Past this point, your phone will lose sinal and you will have to rely on your own navigation to get by. Fortunately the path forward is clear and relatively accessible up until the first of several cozy mountain lodge. At an elevation of roughly 500 meters, it's a nice checkpoint for travelers and a great spot to picnic for most tourists. This lodge is not, however, where the trail ends.
Safety first
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am not a mountain climber. Backpacking solo is one thing, but mountain trails are an entirely different beast. I've scaled parts of Velika Paklenica (the larger of the two canyons that loom behind Starigrad) in the past as a child, so I was vagualy familiair with the first stage of the climb. It is with both old and newfound experience that I highly recommend not proceeding past the first mountain lodge without a guide or group. The lodge acts as a crossroads from which the main trail splits apart into several smaller, far more treacherous and far less well marked trails. It would be amiss to not mention the dozens of overzealous tourists that need to be rescued by helicopter every year. It is with this mindset that I would like to impart the following:
talk to your fellow travelers and ask around before you commit to any trail. Better yet: sign up for a guided tour. Don't go into these trails thinking you can push your limits.
Having said that, after speaking to some fellow travelers by the lodge, I was pointed to a particular mountain peak sitting at an elevation of roughly 800 meters. This lookout point would become my goal for the day.
You might think that after hauling my way up 500 meters, the last 300 would be a literal walk in the park. This couldn't be further from the truth. After hopping over a set of large boulders and washing my face in a chilly mountain creek, I began the arduous crawl up. And I do mean crawl- gone were the pebble paths laid down for the active tourist. These rocky steps were steep and unforgiving. Roots boring through the first provided just enough leverage for me to haul myself from one outcropping to the next until I finally reached a curve in the path.
Curling around the peak, I finally managed to reach the top of the viewpoint and threw my bag off of my shoulders. It was scorching hot, but it was worth every second of my journey. As I gazed out to the world beyond, I treated myself to an apple. I could see the trail leading up to the mountain hut, the snaking path I took to get here, and far off in the distance, the canyon opening that enabled this very trek to begin with. Bein granted such a perspective was thorougly humbling and simultaneously exhilarating. To say I felt at the top of the world would be seeling it short. It was, perhaps, the best moment of my life.
After a well deserved rest, it was time for me to head back down the mountain. It is here where I must stress the importance of good hiking boots. While the climb up is physically demanding, the descent requires an incredible amount of mental effort. Foot placement is important, and the downward movement makes it tempting to overextend your reach. It is always better to be slow and deliberate, as with most things in life. Once I made my way to the bottom and returned to my seaside campsite, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was more to experience. I would scale Velike Paklenica's trails three more times during my week-long stay, taking a different route each time. Even now, I believe I've truly only scratched the surface. The vast network of mountain lodges connected by spindly trails were so tantalizingly close, and yet just out of reach for a hiker of my skill level. I'm eager to return, perhaps with a group or guide, to more safely tackle the mountain and unlock the experiences yet on offer.
Luka van Genderen