Paklenica National Park

Magnificent and off the beaten path!!

Great spot for rock climbing or excellent views of the canyon and coast!

Absolutely loved the trail and the rain helped cool us off. Could definitely see the park trails getting more slippery when wet.

Great place for hiking. We took the A-B-C route from entrance 1 and it took us about 4-5 hours in total. There are other routes too (see attached).

Plenty of shade all over the route and couple of springs to drink refreshing water. It's not too steep but more like gradual increase in elevation. There is a hut and couple of restaurants at the end of route. For students there is discount in entry ticket price.

This one is a must do for everybody, who still remembers the old Winnetou and Old Shatterhand movies. Many scenes from those movies have been shot right here.
Put that aside and you still have a national park of enormous proportions, not quite for its sheer size but for its unique mountainous landscape that might not be found anywhere else in this world!
This place is a paradise for climbers and mountaineers, but every ambitious hiker will also get their money's worth, as this park has more than 200km of trails to offer, in all kinds of ruggedness, many of them barely suited well enough for mules. But every single turn on one of those serpentines will open up another picture frame that just blows one's mind.
That said you need time to explore even one of the preset routes, as they almost all are twisting up to one of the many high points in this area, leaving you with the task of covering up to almost a kilometer in height while loading your legs with many more of those in length. And every single step is worth it.
If you're lucky you might see wild mountain goats, as if the awesome landscape alone wasn't enough.
Youcn need a serious amount of fitness if you want to tackle one of the longer routes (you'll find many route suggestions on komoot for example...) and above all, really good shoes! This is, after all, a mountain range for real.
You'll also need to check the weather, because everything here is possible from serious thunderstorms to excruciating heat. The whole region of Dalmatia has a warm and mediterranean climate with lots and lots of sun hours (approx. 7hrs/day in average!) and when you get yourself up to one of these incredible peaks there's nothing left to cast any shadow, meaning you need to carry everything that might spend some protection from the sun with you.
If you're in for climbing you'll find a garden of preset routes of all kinds of difficulty levels here, just bring your equipment and your buddies along and get started!
If you want to show your kids how amazing climbing can be, you'll easily find routes for that too, as the lowest ranking grade I've seen was a 3. And there are plenty of those. And if you're up for a way bigger challenge then look no further as some of these routes are really asking for highly trained climbing skills.
So climbing or hiking: you can, and should, spend a whole day here and get back home with lots of memories you'll never forget. Coming here in summer one of those will certainly be the absolutely impressive sound of millions of cicadas...

An amazing national park with lots of things to do and see. We visited the "Podzemni grad Paklenice" museum. There also are climbing opportunities, a cave to explore, as well as lots of trails. Definitely worth the detour.

If you are near you have to see this miracle and do not have to be a rock climber. Nice one day trip good roads 2 restaurants on the way from entrance to Planinarski dom, crystal clear Mountain river is your singing company on the way

Thunderstorms, low lying cloud and torrential rain on my visit to Paklenica but it was still an amazing experience. Walking solo on a first visit I kept to the main path up to the fascinating cave system and it was definitely worth the hike up. It’s a steep climb and a lot of stunning views from exposed positions but a number of families with young children were going up and down so it’s accessible. (Wet stones in the rain made the descent a bit harder).

The tour of the caves last about 20-30m but when I was there the tours were only run during the morning. The guides have to hike up themselves and then back. Cash only at the cafe entrance.

The water flowing down from the peaks is channelled to provide a natural water cooler to fill your bottles part way up and there are toilets and a small souvenir shop when you first enter the park.

Outstanding park. we spent the whole day hiking through it. It was excellent for some outdoor fun if you know what I mean ;)

Only did a little bit as didn't have that much time but what I saw of the mountains a d canyon and the little stream alongside the trail was very nice. Mountains are impressive. Path is rocky and can be very slippery where the rocks have been worn down and are smooth and rounded so rec ommend wearing boots. Path can get quite steep at times so suggest that it be recommended fir oeople in good physical condition if you really want to see more. Unfortunately only saw one bird which given the biodersity of the park was disappointing.

Beautiful landscape. A lot to see here, mountains, flower filled meadows, caves, burial sites, ruins. The trails are well marked and maintained. Park rangers appeared friendly and welcoming. I saw family of boar cross the trail a few metres ahead 👌👌

We absolutely loved our hike in this park. Fantastic rock formations and great views throughout. There were quite a few rock climbers in action too, we didn't have the time or the guts to participate unfortunately! 😁

It was a wonderful hike although me and my boyfriend we didn’t even have proper hiking shoes, we enjoyed the smooth path and the embracing of nature. We are always a nature fan, this park brought us many great views. The cave was closed when we were there, but along the road we were lucky to see some wild goats. That was fantastic!

Very nice and underrated park in Croatia! A good place to chill out in the nature, with stunning views of the canyon. There are multiple hiking paths where you can get snacks and drinks, but remember to take cash because cards are not accepted.

Entrance 2 leads to a very challenging trail that is definitely only for fit people. If you are bringing your dog along please keep in mind that the trail involves a lot of climbing over loose rocks, so your dog should be used to that, otherwise entrance 2 does not leed to anywhere. When you have a dog with you, after around 2 hours there will come a point where people need to climb using a rope that is connected to the stone wall, here it is virtually impossible to advance with a dog. However if you are able to go on this route it is very nice and a great experience. Parking is available and restrooms are clean.

A wonderful park with many options to climb and hike, not too expensive (8 Eur per person), not too crowded, full of wildlife. You can even find a small cafeteria and a souvenir shop there, which comes in handy when it starts to rain.

Fantastic park and highlight of my trip to Zadar - there are several entrances so
research well where you want to go . Different scenery - some areas with no people and other areas busier with mountain climbers

Absolutely beautiful hike and views. A must if you enjoy the outdoors and are nearby.

I went in via the main entrance and did an 18 km circuit walk. I'd rate it as one of my best ever walks. Great variety of terrain, incredible views, interesting ruins, a cave, some challenging bits. A really good day out.

Fabulous day out at Paklenica National Park. Excellent for climbing, walking or hiking. Take plenty of water with you. We had a very tasty bean stew with heaps of bread from the foresters cottage. The park is home to a lot of wildlife, unfortunately we didn't see much. It was a beautiful day. Would definitely visit again.

Very nice, but steep, especially when hot. Great exhibition, very well done for children, including interaktive eagle's fly and bat Game in the Tablets. Also mich to learn about Flora and Fauna.

wonderful! very good trail signs so that you can safely get back home, thanks a lot 🙂