The Mountain Range is covered in karst and mountain ridges, sinkholes, valley's, and peaks with over 120 reaching above 1300m with the highest being Vaganski Vrh at 1757. Let's not forget the two national parks contained within the park, North Velebit and Paklenica National Parks which are absolute highlights of the mountain range.
With more than 2,000 square kilometers, Velebit Nature Park is by far Croatia's largest protected area. This magnificent mountain range has two faces, bare rocky slope on the coastal side, and vast forests on the continental side.
The nature park also makes for some exceptionally good cycling along both marked and unmarked trails. Take your pick from an abundance of trails in the Northern, Central or Southern Velebit regions and be prepared for some cool cycling.
Here are a couple of sample trails to tickle your fancy:
Central Velebit Nature Park
Brušane - Rizvanuša - Brušane
This 24km round trip starts in Brusani where you'll ride on a mix of asphalt, macadam, and forest trails. From Brušani you head towards Brušanka Duliba, and pass through an area rich in flora which includes hawthorn, hornbeam, hazel, pine, beech. In addition, you'll get amazing views of the surrounding peaks Konjevača and Sadikovac. It's a great photo opportunity so don't forget to bring your camera along.
Not long after that, you'll come to a clearing with a crystal clear stream, where you can take 5 and relax. Back on the bike and its time to continue to through the rest of Brušanska Duliba and onto Rizvanuša. The trail to Rivanuša passes through beech forest and cycling in summer through here is quite comfortable because of all the shade the beech provides.
Keep pedaling until you reach the charming village of Rizvanuša. From here its easy riding along a sealed road back to Brušane.
By Ekem - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
South Velebit Nature Park
This 31km route is a challenging cycle route however, offers some spectacular sights. Those that are bold and have the adequate skills and experience should definitely give this one a go.
The trail begins at Gračac - Obrovac state road where you'll find the trail for Kastel Žegarski. Start descending down the trail where there is a lot of underbrush, sharp turns and steep slopes so take it easy to begin with. Remember, safety first. Now it's time to head for Golubić. Once you hit the village you can take a little side trip on foot down a marked hiking trail to a lookout point with a magnificent view of where the Krupa enters into Zrmanja.
Continuing from Golubić keep heading for Kastel Žegarski where you'll reach a great lookout over a canyon. Back on the bike and it's time descend to the Krupa monastery down to the Zrmanja river. Here you can ditch the bike and take a rafting trip down the Zrmanja if you so please or hop back on and continue to Kastel Žegarski and then head for Bilišani.
The cycling gets interesting here because you'll get great views of the Zrmanja canyons. Once you've passed Bilšane it off to Muškovci where to route ends. The are a couple of small restaurants and a great place to swim here so feel free to relax for the rest of the day by the river.
This is just a small sample of the many trails available in the Velebit Mountain range, so get on your bikes and explore Croatia.
