Hiking in Paklenica National Park: Top Outdoor Adventures Awaiting You

Hiking is certainly the best way to explore Paklenica National Park. The park boasts about 150 to 200 kilometers of trails, which wind throughout the area.

Among the most popular trails is the one that leads through Velika Paklenica Canyon to Manita peć cave. This unique 1-day trip takes you along the cliffs of the gorge and 175 meters into an incredible cave complex.

Other popular hikes include heading up to the Lugarnica forest cottage, which serves as the base camp for most mountaineering expeditions to the park. The views from the cottage are quite good and the experience of spending the night here is top notch.

Stunning scenery

Situated around a karst river canyon, which runs from the Velebit mountains out into the Adriatic Sea, Paklenica National Park is brimming with incredible natural beauty. Aside from the stunning views down into the canyon as well as back up out of it, Paklenica offers viewers the chance to see forested mountain flanks and unique rock formations as well as climb 400-meter high peaks.

Wonderful wildlife

For animal lovers, heading on a hiking trip to Paklenica National Park is a great way to see some of Europe’s wondrous wildlife. More than 230 different species call the park home, nearly half of which are birds. Among the more than 100 bird species are several incredible rare ones, including the golden eagle, peregrine falcon, short-toed eagle and goshawk. The roe deer chamois and brown bear also call the park home.

Go to the beach

When you are not out on the hiking trails of Paklenica National Park, take advantage of the gorgeous beaches all located nearby. The Dalmatian coastline boasts some of the best beaches in all of Europe. Some of the so-called hidden beaches, which are surrounded by magnificent coastal cliffs, offer some of the most scenic swimming in the area. There is no better way to cool down after a hot day of hiking.

During the summer, average daily temperatures range from 20 ºC to 25 ºC, but can get up all the way into the 30s. Rain is uncommon in the summer, but does become more frequent in the autumn and spring.

During the summer months, the easiest way to get to Paklenica National Park is to fly into Zadar Airport (ZAD), which can be reached from most major European cities. Outside of the summer, you will need to fly into the international airport in Zagreb (ZAG) and take a bus to Zadar.

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