Hiking
Baška
Vaclav’s Ridge Trail
A trail filled with experiences: Seven peaks with breath-taking views in the middle of waterless karst
Karakteristike
Take up Vaclav’s Ridge Trail if you want to do some hiking while exploring the southern side of the island of Krk. It offers an extraordinary experience and breath-taking views. Discover drystone walls – the gems of the island’s architectural heritage, and small freshwater oases in a predominantly waterless karst area, and climb the sixth highest island peak in Croatia. Czech tour guide Vaclav Tupy, who designed this ridge trail, was among the first to recognise the value of the rocky landscape shaped by the rain and bora wind over thousands of years.
It will take you around six hours to visit the seven peaks along this 13.5-kilometre-long linear trail.
Starting off at the Treskavac pass, the trail will take you up through a pine forest. You will then proceed on a rocky terrain with specks of grass, the part of the island resembling a barren land. Soon you will reach Veli vrh (541 m), marked by a pile of stones and a geodetic pillar, with a view of the town of Krk, Punat, and the islet of Košljun. An easy descent leads to a picturesque pond, providing drinking water for cattle. There are other such ponds along the trail, and they are all exceptionally important sources of freshwater in the karst area. A somewhat steeper uphill section alongside drystone walls will first take you Brestovice, and then to the island’s highest peak of Obzova (569 m), offering a full 360⁰ view. Take a deep breath and enjoy the view of Krk, Kvarner Bay, the neighbouring islands of Rab, Cres, and Lošinj and the Velebit mountain range on the mainland. The trail continues through the rocky karst, grass and bushes to Veliki Hlam (482 m) and the Bratinac pass, where the hiking trails meet. With a view of the Baška Valley and the islands of Prvić, Grgur and Rab, it descends to the Ljubimer pass. Nearby ‘mrgari’, flower-shaped drystone walls will surely catch your eye there. Similar structures adorn communal pastures in the southernmost part of the island, where sheep from different owners are still being collected in the traditional way.
The Vraca pass is the final point of the trail, from where you can descend to Baška for a well-deserved rest on one of the most stunning beaches in the Adriatic.
