Velebit – Sv. Brdo: The View that Never Disappoints
Out of all other mountains in Croatia Velebit is kind of a category for it self. It leaves you speechless enough times that you start doubting your speech abilities. No one had been to Velebit and returned the same old regular person except dirty, tired and enlightened.
Our goal for this trip, a peak called Sveto Brdo (Saint Hill – hence the enlightenment). Sv. Brdo (1,752 m) is Velebit’s second highest peak after Vaganski peak (1,757 m). Even though the height difference is only 5 m they are 5.5 km of air distance apart.
DAY 1
MORNING
We started our day around 8, threw our stuff in the car and took the highway to heaven. Around 2h later we reached our spot and this is where it got interesting.
We parked at the completely wrong place (Tulove grede) and only realized that…..5 hours and 11 kilometres later! We took the wrong turn because we automatically headed towards Tulove grede as we have been there few times before. We just committed a well known human brain fart! Luckily, it was one of those trips when things turn up for the best no matter what.
Tulove grede is a karst reef located in park nature of Velebit. This limestone reef goes up to 1.1 km above sea level. The view from above is just as amazing as the sight of Tulove grede itself.
Those interested in film industry and western movies maybe recognize this place as here the famous movie Winnetou was shot. A film based on the Karl May’s novel about an Indian chief Winnetou from the Apache tribe. Just standing here surrounded by the scenery of high and steep reefs and untouched nature makes you really feel the atmosphere of the Apache chief’s wild west.
It was time for us to start walking fast as we were surprised how far we were from our sleeping spot (not realizing yet the mistake we have made)!
EVENING
We were about to reach a place called “Libinjska kosa” when breath taking views just opened in front of us. We would dare to say orgasmic view. Such an orgasm that your partner would consider it as an adultery. 5h longer walk, but no one was even a bit sorry for it. That also meant that we had to continue our trip to the hut at night time.
After this beautiful sunset we put our head lights on and headed off to the mountain hut. Hiking in night time was fun, but we don’t recommend it – especially alone. Our night hike was indeed peaceful, followed by moonlight and good old politically incorrect humour. 3h and 2 km later we arrived at our destination called “Vlaški grad” located at 1,280 m.
Tired and hungry, we cleaned ourselves up in the old school way. Back in the old days people obviously did it with lemon scent wet wipes and Old spice deodorant. My great grandmother once told me: “my son, always carry Old spice, isotonic drink and Whey protein wherever you go, the God will take care of the rest…” so I did. After some warm soup we hit the bed because we had an early start in the morning to Sv. Brdo.
DAY 2
MORNING
Rise and shine. As we woke up and walked outside on the balcony we… We just stood quiet while looking at the horizon. After breakfast and coffee we were ready to head off to Sv. Brdo and we couldn’t be happier because the day was perfect. Just above the hut there was a nice little steep hill (Vlaški grad) made for a morning wake up walk. From the hut to Sv. Brdo we had approximately 3 km and close to 500 m of elevation gain, so nothing too hard, but definitely a good power walk.
After the hill of Vlaški grad we were looking at a nice 1 km of straight and comfortable walk on the soft ground through short bushes. In the distance we could see the steep uphill that will take us just under Sv. Brdo. We looked at the people in the distance going up the hill surrounded by all the massive bodies of nature and it really put us into perspective of how insanely small we are. Just take a look at the photo below.
As we reached the peak of the hill in front of us we took a small break. It was perfect considering the scenery in the back and the sun that was warming our wind cooled bodies. Ideal moment to have a quick bite before we get to our final short climb and our goal which is just a couple of hundred meters away. Soon after we finally reached it. Considered as one of the most beautiful views in Croatia is exactly this one from Sveto Brdo.
AFTERNOON
While observing the scenery and browsing through the endless view, soaking in the rays of sunshine while eating a two and a half day old chicken sandwich that was just as fresh as a gun powder, we thought to ourselves: “…What more could one possibly need?”. Just beneath us, our eyes glazed upon an area with small hills of such a soft texture and colour. It looked like there was a carpet covering them. That place is called Dušice (eng. Little souls).
After descending from Sv. Brdo we found ourselves in this above all very relaxing environment. A look which resembles that of sand dunes, but covered with soft grass. One might say that being isolated here doesn’t look that bad at all.
From this point we still had 12 km to our car. Along the way we walked through beautiful beech forest that looked beautiful and even scary at one point. Even so, the whole atmosphere was very mystical and pretty due to partial fog coming down.
Velebit mountain was a battlefield during the independence war in Croatia like most of other mountains for that matter. After the war finished, some small areas still have not been inspected for presence of mines. It does not mean that the mines are necessarily there, but the bits which still have not been checked are marked with ribbons and are noticeable by the red signs like on this photo.
After exiting the beech forest we were back on the road that took us to our car. Words can hardly demonstrate the majesty of this place. Velebit without a doubt proved once again to be one of the mountains you simply don’t want to miss out on. And this is just one part of this Croatian’s true gem of nature as it has much more still to offer. Tired, sleepy and filled with priceless memories we entered the car and headed home. While looking through the window we were already thinking about the future trips to Velebit, so stay tuned for more of Hygge Trails of Croatia.
