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National Park Paklenica covers huge area starting from the very coast of the Adriatic Sea all the way up to the highest peaks of Velebit. It literally takes you from a zero elevation all the way up to 1.750 meters altitude.
National Park Paklenica climbing area offers all kinds of dry weather climbing – from single pitch sport climbing to multi-pitch big-wall climbing to highly technical aid climbing. Same diversity goes for grades scale ranging from beginner’s 3+ to professional’s 8b. All the routes are in 30 minute walking range which makes the area charmingly social.
But, the real climbing challenge of Paklenica is Anića Kuk – 350 meters of solid vertical walls, the biggest single rock-face in Croatia with over 300 multi-pitch routes, bolted or traditional. Like a stone giant silently sleeping, hidden in the mountain, rising from the forest, Anića Kuk is an impressive piece of a nature design recognized even by the casual visitors.
You don’t have to be a climber to enjoy its greatness. Easy hiking paths along the canyon’s valley gives you a chance to see it from all different angles. Take a close look up its cliffs and you will surely find climbers climbing up there somewhere, struggling with its hugeness, looking like tiny dots ascending in pairs with a rope between them to catch their potential falls.
A walk through Zagreb is a fantastic idea for all those travelers who intend to spend a day or an afternoon in the Croatian capital. Here, of course, we are talking about a walk through the city center, considering that you would definitely need a car or a taxi to visit more distant parts, but also more time. We wondered what are the places in our beautiful center that we would advise everyone to visit – especially if they are in the city for the first time.
That’s how we came up with this list that we’re going to share with you now!
As a starting point, we took the main railway station on King Tomislav Square, as this is the starting point of most of those who come to Zagreb from other parts of Croatia by train, and foreigners from the airport most often order taxis to bring them here. When you come to this place, you immediately notice several taxi drivers, a tram line, sellers of various things who want to sell you something at any cost, but also a few street singers.
The Art Nouveau building that we first decided to visit is this pavilion where the most prestigious art exhibitions have been held for many years (more than a century). The history of fine arts of the 20th century in Croatia is intertwined with the history of museum, given that this space is the oldest exhibition space in the Slavic south.
The art pavilion can be seen if you are standing in front of the main train station building and you really can’t miss it. To get to the pavilion you will first need to cross the road, the statue of King Tomislav (after which the square is logically named) and the promenade sprinkled with pebbles with grassy areas in the middle where public events are sometimes organized, but more often you can to see people relaxing or organizing picnics.
The pavilion itself is an imposing building that is hard to resist and not want to photograph (of course we photographed it and ourselves in front of it even though we have been here a million times!). What saddens us is the fact that it can only be seen from the outside given the devastating earthquake that hit Zagreb in 2020, in which the pavilion collapsed and became an unsafe place that will have to be rehabilitated to a large extent before it can host exhibitions again.
Still, the building itself is special enough that we really enjoyed walking around it. If you are looking for a good place for a photography – that are definitely the stairs at the entrance on the other side of the pavilion.
When we continued walking right behind the Art Pavilion, we first passed another square to find ourselves on the well-known Zrinjevac which is not really too different from Tomislav Square considering what people do when they come here. We saw people resting, eating or reading a book on a blanket in the grass again. Although the smaller pavilion on Zrinjevac otherwise serves as a stage, now that we were there it was completely empty so people climbed on it, took photos and had fun. We decided not to stay here too long, so we continued walking.
What we have to tell you is that two puppies came up to us and started jumping. We began to caress them and look for the owner. Then we saw a younger girl running towards us. She started apologizing thinking that jumping puppies would get us dirty, but we didn’t care, so the situation turned into a pleasant five-minute conversation about dogs. This is also one of the reasons why we like to walk through the center of Zagreb – there is always the possibility of an unexpected and sympathetic experience!
Now we are in the square of Ban Josip Jelačić – another square where a statue of a nobleman on horseback is watching us from a height. This time as well, we found numerous stalls where various local delicacies were sold, as well as handmade jewelry and bags. We certainly think that every tourist would like this because here he can buy an item that will truly remind him of his trip to Zagreb. Since it is the main square, here you can be sure that you will find many restaurants, cafes, shops, fast food, but also bookstores and perhaps lesser known – the Mushroom Museum.
This beauty is in the scaffolding again (given the devastating earthquake), so the people of Zagreb no longer remember the day when she was not under at least some kind of work. However, it is still one of the most famous sights of Zagreb, which is definitely worth a visit, even if you just look at it from the outside, as we did today. From Ban Jelačić Square to the Cathedral you will walk only a few minutes, and on the way you should definitely stop and look at the sculpture-model called “Zagreb greets” which shows the city on a reduced scale.
After a short stop next to the model, we headed to the cathedral, which again enchanted us with its imposing size. While trying to find the perfect place for a photo, we came across a very interesting stone tablet with an unusual inscription: “Akonna, Gaj’s daughter Salvia, Gaj Julija Paterno – to the wife like the rare ones”. (It’s pretty hard to translate it since this inscription is written in language that no one talks anymore – except, perhaps, a poet.) Of course, what particularly interested us was this last part. We concluded that every man should write this on the tombstone of his wife in case she dies before him! Of course, if they were in a really good relationship…
While we were entertained by the inscription on the board, we remembered that we were really going to the Botanical Garden and that it was a place we said we had not visited for a long time, and it is one of the most beautiful in Zagreb. We realized that it was supposed to be our second destination after the Art Pavilion because it is the closest, but here we are – we have already reached the cathedral, so now we had to go back.
The Botanical Garden in Zagreb is the oldest and main botanical garden in Croatia, which has been operating continuously since 1889 and is listed as a legally protected monument of park architecture. This place is home to a valuable collection of Croatian flora, many exotic plants from around the world, and it is possible to see collections with more than 5,000 plant taxa of the season. Impressive!
The garden is open to visitors every day from 9 am, with the proviso that during the working week you will be able to stay in it on Mondays and Tuesdays until 2:30 pm, and from Wednesday to Sunday until 7 pm. Considering that we decided to take a walk in Zagreb on Tuesday and did not immediately go to the Botanical Garden – we did not have much time, but in the end we managed to visit everything we wanted. Tickets for the garden are paid a symbolic 10 kn, and if you are a student or pensioner only 5 kn. From everything visited, we will have to admit that the Botanical Garden is the most beautiful place precisely because of the beautiful vegetation. When you walk through all these plants, all your worries disappear, and you are in a completely different world, far from the problems of everyday life. We definitely recommend visiting this place when you find yourself in Zagreb.
Your CTC Team, A. M.
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