As always, I checked the weather forecast several times before the trip, including the night before. All forecasts have foreseen sunshine throughout the day with only a bit of clouds early in the morning. Since I had to drive cca 1.5h I counted on the clouds disappearing by the time I get there.

The route

The starting point was a parking spot by a mountain home Glavaš. From there the path followed a comfortable trail to an old abandoned shelter called Martinove košare (Martin’s baskets). The path continued through vast fields of picturesque Dinaric grass towards the steep section just below the peak. The rocky zig-zag incline started there that took me to the Sinjal/Dinara peak.

The route down from the top was a very straightforward one, descending on the south side and going in parallel with the famous Dinara cliffs. Further down the trail was another mountain shelter “Drago Grubać” after which the 2 trails met at a junction that lead back to start.

Morning

Driving in the car I noticed heavy grey and black clouds dominating in the sky. I thought to myself “the weather forecast people have fucked it up again…”. The enthusiasm was still high as I had another hour of drive so I consoled myself it could still change. Cca 1h later I was sitting in the car waiting for the bloody rain to stop. It was yet another evidence that the mountain forecast has to be taken with a reservation.

30 mins have passed and I was finally on my way. Since I was alone I could set my own pace to make up for the lost time. The first spot that definitely deserved a pause for observation was a medieval fortress.

The Dinarić aka Glavaš fortress built in the 15th century. It was built when the Ottoman invasion was very much expected. Dinarić fortress was a chain link of nearby fortresses in the Vrlika area. Another two are “Prozor” located above the Vrlika town while “Potravnik” sits in the south end of Peruča lake.

The weather was again going for the worse. Thick fog filled the valley and the rain started to drizzle again. I continued further because I have a decent gear, but hiking in rain is no fun especially if you have photo equipment.

Just when I thought “ok, I can handle this drizzle” it started pouring heavily and I had no choice but to hurry to the nearest shelter. The shelter that gave me the break from rain was called “Martinove košare”. It felt nice not being wet while cursing at everything alive and dead, weather forecasts and my bad luck. In the middle of my juiciest curse I got interrupted by few fellow hikers looking for a dry spot too.

We chatted for 30 mins and just when I was about to call it a day the rain stopped, heavy fog cleared up a bit and just like that my plans changed. I went all in with a ridiculously fast tempo to make up for the lost time. The only good thing about the fog was that it made scenery look very mystical, which is always a good thing (…unless you get lost, then it’s a thriller). But the mountains really get a special vibe in these conditions.

All the way from Martinove košare until the last section the weather served me fine, but of course just when I needed it to be good it went for the worse. The last incline had poor markings because the paint had faded away, so hikers used nearby stones to build cones for better visualisation of the route. All that goes down the drain when a thick fog swallows your sight and you are not able to see 3 m ahead.

Luckily I had my GPS watch with a preloaded GPX trail. I could not stress enough how important and valuable that small piece of technology is , especially in situations like that. Without it, I would have been lost.

This, honestly speaking shitty photo, just serves as an evidence of how thick the fog was and that I have actually reached the top. Good news were that the way down was much better.

AFTERNOON

I had no reason to stay on top for long as I could not see anything. It was heavily blowing, I was wearing crampons due to frozen snow below the peak, so I just wanted to get myself in a more visible and comfortable surroundings. For the next 30 mins the fog was still blocking the views all around me, but I could clearly see in a radius of 20m. At one point as I got beneath the cloud it all opened up right in front of me.

I might have not seen much before, but this has made it all worth it. The colour contrast of the unique Dianara grass and the distant dark fields, Peruča lake and other parts of Dinara was beautiful. Now I could slow down completely, take my time and enjoy the tranquillity of the ambient . I was not far away from start, so I had nowhere to hurry. Finally it was time for the drone. Take a minute to watch the video for a better understanding of the place.

I was just roaming around for 2 hours, taking shots and admiring the landscape, but then it was time to go on. Not much further ahead, another shelter was awaiting called Drago Grubać. The shelter got its name after a Croatian soldier and a mountaineer who passed away in 2016.

Evening

There was not much left to finish the trail, so I had to cherish every view. And I sure had something to glaze upon as the sun was setting. Only thing left to do was to sit back and observe the magic. The whole Vrlika area was on the palm of my hand. Breathtaking sight.

A crazy day full of turnarounds. All in all it ended amazing and Dinara showed herself in a completely different face to what I have experienced so far. When I approached the car parked by the mountain home, there was one someone so happy that I have returned. He has sent me off to the mountain in the morning and welcomed me back at night. A real good boy (he stole my sock).

Natural 84 km border between Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina, the youngest member of “Park of nature” category (since 2021) and the highest mountain in Croatia. Dinara is positioned between the river Cetina in the SW and Livanjsko Polje in the NE. The highest peak (Troglav – 1913 m) of the massive Dinara is located on a mountain Troglav, one of the 3 mountains (Dinara, Kamešnica and Troglav) that create this massive and is located in BiH. Croatians highest point lays on the mountain Dinara and it is called Sinjal (1831 m).

It is mostly recognized for its curvy grass fields, tall and wide eastern cliffs and its absence of trees. It is also famous for the wind bura that often blows hard in this areas. Compared to Velebit for example or Biokovo it is less attractive, but believe us when we say that Dinara has its charm.

Our plan

Our plan for this hike was to reach the highest point, Troglav. Unfortunately, due to very strong bura we had to cancel our ascent to the top on the 2nd day. Even though a bit disappointed we were very happy with our hygge night at the Pume shelter nonetheless.

As we have walked this trail few times before we knew what to expect in terms of terrain and weather. The trail in total was around 24km and in general not very difficult. We could divide it in 3 parts. The first one through the woods, second on the steeper more open terrain and the third follows the wide grass hills to the hut.

Day 1

We started the hike at 10 o’ clock from a small village called Ježević. To the shelter Pume it takes 4.5-6h depending on the tempo. We had enough time so we took it slow and enjoyed the weather. Dinara is huge and very massive. It showed us that at the very start when we stood in front of it. The first part followed the dirt road for 2 km and one portion of it can be covered with a regular car.

After 2 km of dirt road we entered the forest part. The trail was nicely marked with renewed old markings. Also there were new educational boards since the last time we have been here. The weather was perfect, 18 degrees and full sun. Knowing the weather on Dinara, it was unquestionable that snow and bura would cool us down later on.

After Dinara, The Dinarides continue with a mountain called Kamešnica. Another part of the Croatian – Bosnian border. Majority of it lays in BiH with its highest peak at 1856 m called Konj (Horse). The highest point on the Croatian side is called Glavaš (1308 m). We had a pretty good view of it throughout the whole trip indeed.

After the forest, the path goes on in serpentines to cancel out the steeper incline of this part. From here we could see the whole Vrlika area. The artificial Peruča lake layed in the the foothills of Dinara on one side while having mountain Svilaja on the other.

We were slowly getting near the third part. The saddle after which almost always bura blows at least a bit. Fortunately for us this time it didn’t, but the temperature was sensibly lower. We also had to put our crampons as the snow was more frozen here.

The hut

We could already see the hut from here, but we still had 2.5 km to go and we were dying to see the sunset! There was much more snow here and it was such a pleasure walking surrounded by it on all sides. The sun was setting so it wasn’t strong, snow was around us and views as far as your eyes can see. Perfect. Finally, step by step we arrived.

Pume is the Croatians highest hut located at 1630 m and it serves as one of HGSS (Croatian mountain rescue service) operating points. It had all we could need from a shelter and much more if you ask us. Beautiful hut and without a doubt a view to die for.

After a nice cup of hot tea we were blessed with a spectacular sunset. We could watch this every single day forever. What a bedtime story!

Day 2

As mentioned, this is the birth place of bura. It blew the whole night so hard that we felt its force on the shelter walls. In the morning it blew enough to throw a lighter person into a fence. At that point we still considered continuing to Troglav.

30 mins later, bura lifted the snow dust and covered the whole area. Our visibility reached no more than 10 m. Unfortunately we had to cancel our ascent and head back. Needless to say that without gaiters and crampons this would have been a very tricky descent. Besides, you shouldn’t even consider not bringing them in the first place. We waited a bit until the snow dust settles to start the hike down.

It can be annoying sometimes, but it is a valuable experience and part of the mountain folklore. We were reaching the saddle where the wind weakens a bit and enjoyed the views as now we faced the other direction.

Just like we figured, the wind weakened after the saddle and we could take some clothes and soon the crampons and gaiters off. Now all we had to do is to enjoy the Peruča lake for the next 6 km. Tough job.

Once we hit the forest the views stopped. Soon after the dirt road began and needless to say it wasn’t our favourite part since our feet were already a bit sore. Nonetheless we walked those 3 boring kilometres exchanging our thoughts and commenting all the seen beauty.

Despite not being as dynamic as Velebit or having its surroundings alter constantly, Dinara is absolutely beautiful. Different trails and sides of this massive mountain offer different experiences very much worth the walk. We hope you enjoyed our blog and maybe we gave you a push towards visiting this old beauty.