Winter magic of Velebit on Sv. Brdo
Endless source of inspiration and soul food, that is Velebit. We can never get enough of this hedonist mountain where nirvana is present with each step.
Last time we went to Vaganski peak and in case you missed it you can find it on this link . But this time we wanted to experience Velebit in the snow. We chose an already familiar trail without the snow, which is Sv. Brdo. If you want to compare the 2 opposite atmospheres check our Velebit – Sv. Brdo: The View that Never Disappoints. Honestly, they are both amazing and there is no wrong choice (but we do prefer the snow more).
The plan
The starting point was Malo Libinje. To reach Malo Libinje takes about 16 km after exiting the highway including around 9 km of dirt road. Total trail length was 16 km and it took us 8h to finish it, but we stopped a lot. It was a circle trail starting from Malo Libinje – Vlaški grad – Sv. Brdo – Dušice – Debelo Brdo – Malo Libinje. The trail overall is not very difficult, but obviously snow makes it more challenging as we needed crampons and gaiters at some places where the snow was deep and a bit frozen.
Morning
After 9 km of bouncing up and down on a dirty road we reached Malo Libinje. A beautiful area of wide fields where cows enjoy their morning grass breakfast in the foothills of Velebit reefs. One simply doesn’t even need to go further but to stay here and soak in the intact nature with all senses.
Velebit hits from very start. Beauty to the maximum and it never stops. We passed the cute cows on the grass fields and started going up slowly. Unfortunately we did not run into wild horses which are common in these areas, but maybe next time. The weather was very nice with full sun, so a sunscreen was a must. There was no snow in this part so we were going pretty fast, but Velebit always makes you stop to admire something.
2 km before Vlaški grad (the hut) we started seeing traces of snow and that was an introduction to a completely different vibe that awaited us. Every nature trip regardless how nice it is gets even better if animals appear. We were lucky enough to witness several deer just casually roaming around the area looking for food.
Parallel with the deer we got closer to Vlaški grad. The first time we took this path we covered it during night time and therefore didn’t even see this part of trail until this day. It was a very cute path and definitely not worth missing out on.
Afternoon
Right after the hut we took a turn to the right and hiked up the small steep hill. As we went around it the wind started to blow a bit and the snow was deeper, so we changed our shoes and put on the gaiters.
Few meters after, the view of the Sv. Brdo (The Holy Hill) hit us with such beauty. We remember it without the snow so now it was a completely different look and damn, it sure looked nice.
For comparison purposes we put an image from the last time without the snow and now. The same spot, two different looks and we would say 60:40 in favour of snow.
Halfway on the uphill before the peak beautiful views opened up and we could not ignore them.
What to add more after these photos. Pure nirvana and we wished it never ends. Even the peak wasn’t that important anymore because this is what we came for. We wouldn’t change it for anything. Still, we had to continue because the day was not that long and we used a lot of time by admiring the scenery from the peak.
Evening
Wind got stronger on the top so we didn’t stay for long, but enough to enjoy the views. Titled as the best in Croatia, it certainly lives up to its name. Adriatic sea, Tulove grede, mountain peaks on all sides and islands leave everyone speechless. Time didn’t go in our favour so we continued our walk towards Dušice (Little souls) on the steep south-west reef under Sv. Brdo.
Dušice are a sand dune looking kind of small hummocks covered with grass, but this time with extra layer of snow. It is such a cute place, ideal for kids to play around.
10 mins from Dušice hummocks we reached the shelter Dušice. Definitely convenient if you get caught by night or harsh weather and the hut is not bad at all.
Sun was going down fast and we still had 5 km to go. there was no sun but there was still light. Until we hit the clearance before the Debelo brdo (The Fat hill). Not only we got sun but we got the best sunset you could imagine. Nothing beats a nice sunset especially when finishing a hiking day. Get ready for this…
1h later we were in the car sitting and still heavily impressed by the orange soul food called sunset. What an amazing trip. Velebit will always have a special place in our heart and with full right. We hope we managed to transfer at least a portion of the cosiness of this hygge trail of Velebit. Thank you and stay tuned for more.
