Your guide/driver will pick you up at 8:30 am at the given address in Zadar area. Meeting point possible in Starigrad Paklenica. Make sure you have good quality hiking boots and backpack as well as a packed lunch, at least 2 liters of water, sun protection, a rain jacket, a fleece, swimming suit and towel. Expect to be back at your accommodation around 7 pm.
Paklenica National park is situated in the southern part of Velebit mountain range, 45 minutes drive from Zadar.
The mountain Velebit belongs to the mountain Dinaride system and it is its longest mountain. In the same time, Velebit is the most interesting and the richest natural landscape in Croatia. In order to protect these values, whole Velebit was declared as nature park, and its most precious landscapes are protected as national parks, strict reserves and nature monuments. The whole mountain was 1979 included in the list of biosphere reserves in the network of UNESCO programme "Man and the Biosphere".
Because of its unique natural base, exceptional geomorphological forms and magnificent forests, area of Velika and Mala Paklenica were declared a national park in 1949.
The importance of protecting and preserving the largest forest complex in Dalmatia comes as no surprise when you look at the abundant plant and wildlife, rich cultural and natural heritage.
The park has around 150 km of hiking trails. The mountains rise sharply from the sea and while the park initially looks very rocky, you will be surprised to find out that 75% of the park superficy is forest, mostly beech and black pine.
The wealth of flora is reflected in the list of 1,000 plant species and subspecies recorded to date, 79 of them endemic. The great diversity, the presence of endemic, rare, statutorily protected species make the Park a very valuable floristic area, not just in Croatia, but in Europe and the world as well.
