Gospić is the small capital of Lika, a high, cold plateau tucked behind the Velebit mountains, and the town sits at about five hundred and sixty metres above the sea in a broad valley of meadows and pine woods. Winters here are famously harsh, with deep snow and temperatures that can drop far below freezing, and people sometimes call the region Croatia's Siberia. The summers are mild and fresh, and the long evenings are good for sitting outside.
It is the nearest town to the village of Smiljan, where Nikola Tesla was born in 1856, the son of a Serbian Orthodox priest. A memorial centre there, which is easy to reach, preserves the house and church and tells the story of the inventor of the alternating-current system, with some demonstrations of electricity that delight children and adults alike. In Gospić itself, a statue of Tesla stands in the centre, and a few old public buildings recall the time when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Military Frontier.
The riding in Lika is characterised by emptiness. Roads run through forest and meadow, with few villages and little traffic, and the surface is mostly good. To the west, the road climbs over the Velebit via the old route to Karlobag, a series of dramatic hairpins with a view over the islands of the Adriatic that is among the finest in the country, although it can be closed in winter. To the north lie the Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO site of terraced waterfalls, about an hour's ride away, though the roads around the park fill with coaches in summer.
Fuel is easy at Gospić, which has several stations, and it is wise to fill up here before heading into the mountains, since services can be distant. Local cuisine centres on Lika potatoes, lamb roasted under a metal bell, smoked meats and cheese. Choose the months between May and October for the best weather, and carry a warm layer, because the nights can be chilly even in midsummer.