Croatia: Road Trip Leg 4 & Paklenica National Park
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
Paklenica rock climbing
Tree tunnels
At the top overlooking the intersection of valleys
Paklenica Valley Photo by Nik
Wild flowers everywhere Photo by Nik
Hiking near the ridge Photo by Nik
Zadar – St Donatas Church in the rain
The Zadar Sea Organ
Sunset from Privlaka
From the mountains to the sea Photo by Nik
Park road Photo by Nik
Sunset from the Stari Grad boardwalk
Useful Links:
Nik’s Blog: Starigrad, Zadar, Paklenica National Park, Croatia