Travelling in the Time of Coronavirus – Part 2

Since 2017, the Paklenica National Park, which covers an area of 95km2, can also proud itself on the fact that its beech forests were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. At the very entrance, not far from the parking lot, the first attraction awaits us, namely a secret atomic bunker carved into the rock and created at a time when relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union were not exactly excellent. The bunker was intended to be used by the leadership of the former Yugoslavia in the event of a nuclear attack, and today you can also walk through this stone labyrinth or try your hand at free climbing. The bunker itself, with its living quarters, halls, and everything in it, was never completed, as there was no need for such a facility after the death of the Soviet leader Stalin. From the 1950s until the 1990s, the bunker was a secret, although it was located right next to the main path leading into the national park. But the bunker, which is at the very entrance to the national park, is not the main reason for visiting.

At the bunker’s entrance we come across another peculiarity; the Paklenica National Park is a very famous free climbing center and therefore it is not surprising if you meet dozens of climbers.

The Paklenica National Park has a lot to offer, from archaeological sites to over 115 underground cliffs and caves, and on the surface one can find a rich flora and fauna. To date, as many as 84 species of butterflies, 165 species of birds and many other animals have been documented.

You can reach a mountain hut following the narrow but well-kept paths, and from there the village of Ramići, where no road leads and the village is therefore only accessible on foot, or by horse or mule. Ramići is one of ten hamlets with almost no inhabitants; the other nine are called Parići, Njive, Kneževići, Katići, Škiljići, Jasenar, Rimenić, Jurline and Marasovići. It is tourism that helps preserve these rare working farms in these hamlets, where it is also possible to try local specialties. Although there are few buildings in the Paklenica National Park, the most interesting ones are the houses that stretch into the underground caves at Sklopina, where there have been no settlement or inhabitants for a long time.

Of course, the Paklenica National Park is far from all that’s worth visiting in this northern part of Dalmatia, whose center is the historic city of Zadar and where there is also an excellent youth hostel where you can spend quality and safe nights for little money.

Croatia, however, is far from being the only destination you can visit, as almost all European countries opened up their borders, although after returning from certain ones, a ten-day quarantine is unavoidable. A useful tool for when traveling around Europe is the website that also comes in the form of an app of the same name "Re-Open Europe": https://reopen.europa.eu/en. I am also concluding the second part with this hint, and next time we will go to the neighbouring Hungary, and from there on to Austria via Slovakia.