This post is part of a series of Croatia Travel Guides and Inspiration!

Check out the 7 Day Itinerary to Hike with me in Croatia’s National Parks here

Hike Risnjak National Park with me here

Explore Plitvice Lakes National Park with me here

Hike with me in Paklenica National Park here

Visit Krka River National Park with me here

The Velebit mountain chain runs north to south as imposing jagged grey peaks.  It encompasses the frontier between continental Croatia and the Adriatic Sea with numerous botanical reserves, high rising stone masses, and mountaineering trails. 

While the southern end of the Velebit range is home to Paklenica National Park with dramatic cliff-framed mountain valleys, the less-visited northern end of the Velebit mountains also offers magnificent scenery and hiking.

Northern Velebit National Park lies between Senjska Draga and a deep ravine called Brusanka in the northern part of Croatia’s longest mountain range. It’s unique location make the weather often unstable and quickly changing (it snowed during my early October visit!) but also gives rise to dramatic scenery. 

Premuzic Trail

The dramatic landscape within the park  consists of several ranges of ridges and crests, separated from each other by deep karst ravines and valleys. The most famous of the 30 mountain trails within the park is the Premuzic Trail, named after its constructor, the BSc forestry Ante Premuzic.

Construction of this 57 km route began in 1930 using using the drystone technique without the use of machines. It was desinged to provide access to the most rugged and inaccessible sections of north Velebit–Hajdučki i Rožanski Kukovi.

Working its way from one side of the Velebit’s central ridge to the other, the Premuzic Trail offers gentle gradients along a stony path requiring good hiking boots. As you wind through the limestone high country of the Velebit Mountains, you are struck with dramatic views of domed peaks, craggy pinnacles, and sinkholes—all characteristic features of karstic landscapes.

The path runs along the mountain ridge with sharp dropoffs at the edge but no steep ascents or descents. It offers dramatic and beautiful views of the mountain’s rugged beauty for moderate to advanced mountaineers.