Mount Velebit

Mount Velebit, Travel Guide with travel tips for holidays in Mount Velebit, Croatia

Mount Velebit Nature Park, also called Sjeverni Velebit Park, is the youngest park that you will find in Croatia. It was declared a national park in 1999, and rightly so. This nature park offers a variety of landscapes, flora, and fauna.

Mount Velebit Nature Park is 109 sq km and has thirty mountain peaks that are higher than 1300m. Velebit is one of the biggest mountain ranges in Croatia. Inside of these amazingly high mountains are many underground caves and caverns. Among them is Lukina Jama, the largest cave in the park. It is part of the Cerovack Pecine cave system and it drops an awesome 1,392m into the ground. Lukina Jama was discovered by students who were studying the caves in Mount Velebit in 1993, and was declared to be the largest cave in Croatia. It also boasts being one of the twenty largest caves in the world. Three smaller caves are also within the Cerovack Pecine cave system, and are named Upper, Middle and Lower. They span 2,682m and travel 390m into the ground.

This nature park is more than just its world famous caves. You will also find quiet peace and a sense of nature. If you want to travel the whole ridge, you can follow Premuzic’s path and rest in mountain huts along the way. Along the coastal slopes, you’ll find Maquis and scrub. Looking inland you will see leafy woods, with Beech, Juniper and Pine forests along the land closest to the ridge. Just below the ridge you'll find meadows full of wild flowers. The flora of Mount Velebit Nature Park is nothing short of majestic. Keep your eyes out for the variety of fauna that graces the ridge and the surrounding area. You might see a bear, wolf, martens, and even a wildcat or two. Try to find the deer, and look to the sky to see golden eagles and griffon vultures. You might also see a snake along your way, and as night falls look for the long eared owl.

Because Mount Velebit Nature Park is among the youngest in Croatia, it is not as heavily traveled. Unlike some other national parks, you will not be required to register before arrival or pay an admission fee. This place is the best to be out among nature, without coming across a few dozen other adventurers doing the same. Come enjoy the magic of Mount Velebit Nature Park.