Northern Velebit – The youngest National Park in Croatia

If You were wondering, if there is a place almost intact by a human industrial and technology achievements on this Earth, yet easy to reach, I feel invited to tell You a story about Northern Velebit.
Driving along the state roads from main city Zagreb through the prettiest scenarios of Croatian inland, namely Lika region, You cannot miss the mighty mountain Velebit, preventing Your sight to wonder all over to the bluish widths of  the Adriatic sea. Velebit is over 145 kilometers long, but just 10 to 30 kilometers wide, tracking the Croatian coast.
The most magical thing about Velebit is that it is a rare mountain where one can claim up to the heights, just below the clouds, feeling freshness and freedom, yet see the sea and golden reflections of the sun on its restless surface.
Northern Velebit is announced National Park to be in the year 1999., due to the numerous karsts phenomena and diverse flora and fauna on relatively small area. It has 109 square kilometers, and, maybe the most interesting part for visitors is Zavižan. Zavižan is a plateau merged by two mountain peaks chains. Zavižan is easy to reach, since You can claim by a bus or a car in front of Mountain Lodge ‘Zavižan’ and weather You’ve decided to spend a night there or not, it is an excellent starting point for investigating the area. Every peak near the Lodge is a challenge and the beauty of nature and panorama makes every effort worthy.
In the vicinity of Mountain Lodge there is one of two famous Botanical gardens of Northern Velebit; Velebit’s garden in Modrić-dolac. It was founded in 1966. for a scientific purpose, but it became a tourist attraction. It allows a visitor to meet all of the plant species of Velebit in 30 minutes, he would normally need at least 30 years to spend searching them all over the mountain. The other garden is reservation ‘Visibaba (Snowdrop)’ which contains the biggest finding site of endemic Sibiraea croatica.
National Park is intersected by numerous mountain tracks all over the area. The most famous Premužić’s track is built in 1933. It starts, again, in the vicinity of Mountain Lodge ‘Zavižan’, and goes all across the mountain with the length of over 50 kilometers. It is easy to walk on, even though it takes almost three days to pass it all. The Premužić’s track goes from a forest through an increasingly craggy area, abruptly emerging among the tall, cone-shaped rocks entering the strictly protected area of Rožanski kukovi. It passes through another strictly protected area Hajdučki kukovi where getting off the track is not allowed. Those reservations are for scientific and educational purpose only; even 150 pits and caves are discovered on this area and that, probably, is not their final number.
If You find accommodation in some town in the region, like Krasno and Otočac in inland, You’ll find nice private apartments and unique gastronomy offer supported by home made brandy and meat specialties. For the ones in favor of salty air and sea breeze, little towns like Senj, Crikvenica, Novi Vinodolski and other, are offering quality accommodation in modern fully equipped apartments, tourist infrastructure and, yet they are close to National Park Northern Velebit enough for You to plan trips and expeditions, carrying only You enthusiasm and smile along. In that way You can experience summer joys and mountain freshness in the same holiday.  
Once You are in the National Park, do not miss to visit Kuterevo. It is the unique and only reservation for little bears who have accidentally lost their mothers, in the whole world for now. There You can meet volunteers who are helping this lovely creatures to grow and eventually get back to the wild. And of course, you can meet little bears and thus complete the view card to bring home along with You from this special and extraordinary vacations.