Why this ride
A 507 km round trip from Rakovica - roughly 11 h 33 in the saddle. It goes by way of Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi, Paklenica National Park and back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Plitvice Lakes National Park and Paklenica National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 507 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 11 h 33
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Plitvice Lakes National Park → Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi
This part of the ride is 118 km of Plitvice Lakes National Park → Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 118 km
Croatian Adriatic Highway
For about 157 km this is Croatian Adriatic Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 157 km
- Named road
- Croatian Adriatic Highway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice is sixteen lakes arranged in a staircase, linked by waterfalls and bordered by beech and fir forest, all coloured an unreal turquoise by the minerals in the water. The lakes form because the water is rich in calcium carbonate, which settles out as travertine, or tufa, on moss and plants, building natural dams that grow slowly over the centuries. It is a living process, which is why the park is protected, and why visitors have to keep to the wooden walkways that wind across the water. UNESCO listed it in 1979, and it is today Croatia's most visited natural site.
Read the complete Plitvice Lakes National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Plitvice Lakes National Park is where the day begins. Next is Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi.
2. Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi
The Hajdučki and Rožanski Kukovi are a field of limestone towers in the northern Velebit, a landscape of pale spires, pinnacles and karst pavements that look like a city abandoned by giants. They sit in the Northern Velebit National Park, a long mountain range that parallels the Adriatic coast and shelters the Croatian interior from the sea. The sea is close, and the contrast is part of the appeal: bare white stone and wind above, blue water far below.
Read the complete Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi comes up about 118 km into the recorded legs. Next is Paklenica National Park.
3. Paklenica National Park
Paklenica is a place where the Velebit mountains drop in a wall to the Adriatic. The national park, created in 1949, protects two gorges, Mala and Velika Paklenica, which cut into the limestone like a pair of knife wounds, with vertical walls up to four hundred metres high. The big wall of Anića Kuk is a famous climbing area, and on a clear day you can watch climbers as small as ants. Between the walls, the path winds through black pine and beech forest, with the sound of a stream and the smell of resin. Griffon vultures nest on the cliffs and often circle overhead, and the caves in the hills hold bats and old stories.
Read the complete Paklenica National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 275 km into the recorded legs you reach Paklenica National Park. Next is back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi.
4. back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi, late in the day. Next is Plitvice Lakes National Park.
5. Plitvice Lakes National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Plitvice Lakes National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Plitvice Lakes National Park. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Plitvice Lakes National Park to Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi
Plitvice Lakes National Park → Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi is 118 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi to Paklenica National Park
Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi → Paklenica National Park is 157 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Paklenica National Park to back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi
Paklenica National Park → back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi is 114 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi to Plitvice Lakes National Park
back through Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi → Plitvice Lakes National Park is 118 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.