Croatia: Road Trip Leg 4 & Paklenica National Park

May 28th, 2015. Croatia, Europe
The lush valley on our way off of Krk Island

The lush valley on our way off of Krk Island

Once we made it back to mainland Croatia, the drive south along E65 was easily as beautiful as Highway 1 in California. The perfectly paved 2 lane road hugged the coastline as jagged karsk mountains jutted up above us to the east and rocky islands dotted the aqua blue water of the Adriatic Sea to the west. It only took us a couple hours to make it to Stari Grad Paklenica, and I would have been happy with it taking 10 hours. Also, you know you are on a beautiful and scenic road when you pass multiple packs of motorcyclists and every other restaurant advertises “Biker Discounts – 10% off”!

The rain started when we were about 20 minutes away from our next apartment, and continued off and on for the next three days. We made the most of it by staying inside and catching up on rest, hiking through Paklenica National Park (best hike ever), and running from overhang to overhang in the downtown area of Zadar. Then on the third day, the North Wind came and pushed the bad weather out and brought in perfectly still days with sunshine and blue skies from dawn until dusk for our final 2 days. We went on another hike in the park, and continued to relax on our seaside balcony. The small town of Stari Grad was a great home base for exploring the Paklenica/Zadar area and gave us some much needed time away from a city.

The Dalmatian Coast

The Dalmatian Coast

Paklenica rock climbing

Paklenica rock climbing

Tree tunnels

Tree tunnels

At the top overlooking  the intersection of valleys

At the top overlooking the intersection of valleys

Paklenica Valley

Paklenica Valley Photo by Nik

Wild flowers everywhere

Wild flowers everywhere Photo by Nik

Hiking near the ridge

Hiking near the ridge Photo by Nik

Zadar - St Donatas Church in the rain

Zadar – St Donatas Church in the rain

The Zadar Sea Organ

The Zadar Sea Organ

Sunset from Privlaka

Sunset from Privlaka

From the mountains to the sea

From the mountains to the sea Photo by Nik

Park road

Park road Photo by Nik

Sunset from the Stari Grad boardwalk

Sunset from the Stari Grad boardwalk

Useful Links:

Paklenica National Park

Nik’s Blog: Starigrad, Zadar, Paklenica National Park, Croatia


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