Backpacking Croatia's Velebit Mountains - Alumni

Join NOLS for an adventure into Croatia’s Velebit mountains! While the Croatian coast draws many visitors, few venture just inland to the Velebit Mountains. The Velebits are a wild mediterranean mountain range where limestone giants fill the sky and mingle with sea views in the distance. Few venture into these mountains because of the challenging logistics, but with the help of our local partners and years of visiting this beautiful country, NOLS has created a trip that explores all the best of Croatia’s inland treasures.

Tomislav Petrovic

This trip begins in Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb. We will kick things off with an evening orientation on day one, and follow that up with a city tour on the morning of day two. Zagreb is a fascinating city with a wealth of history. If your travel plans allow it, we recommend taking an extra day or two to explore this charming European city.

Travis Welch

On day three, we will depart for the mountains to begin part one of our hiking trip. Part one explores the Northern Velebit mountains. Daily mileages will be around 9-13 miles daily on trails along the coastal side of the range. We will pass through coastal forests of Downy Oak and Hornbeam trees at lower elevations and at higher elevations, we will enter classic Croatian Beech tree forests.

Nancy Leon

The Velebit Mountains are formed from Karst limestone which forms jagged peaks and natural caves. We will have the chance to marvel at some of these natural wonders on this section of our hike.

Marina Egorova

The huts on this trip are rustic, but comfortable and clean. Daily meals are basic, hearty, mountain food. Bean stews, sausages, pasta, and bread are among the typical fare. We will stay at one hut that sits high in the mountains, up a steep trail and is only re-rationed by mule train. Each hut has its own character and part of the adventure will be getting to know our hut hosts and learning about their lives in the Croatian countryside.

Faith Cerny

Halfway through our trip, we will meet a shuttle to take us to part two of our trip. First, we will visit the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This national park boasts endless waterfalls that drain into astonishing blue pools. We will spend some time exploring the park before heading to the historic sea town of Starigrad for the night. Starigrad is one of the oldest towns in Europe and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Between the history, cobbled streets, cafes, and galleries there is something for everyone to appreciate.

After a restful night in town, we will head into the Southern Velebit mountains for one more day of robust hiking as we ascend from the coast back into the mountains. We will spend that night in a backcountry hut enjoying the peace of these remote mountains. Our final hiking day will be an easy cruise back down to the coast to meet a shuttle that will take us back to Zagreb.

We will close out our final night together with a dinner out in Zagreb. Croatia is a charming country with varied terrain, beautiful landscapes and fascinating history. This is a great trip to invite friends and family along to see a side of Croatia most visitors miss.

Overall Difficulty*:

*Staying in huts  and a gear shuttle helps, but hiking days cover both robust distance and elevation.