Baška valley: Treskavac, Draga Bašćanska, Batomalj and Jurandvor

Stop at Treskavac pass: the six-metre letter A and the first view down the valley

At the top of the D102, just before the road drops towards Baška, stands the first and largest sculpture of the Baška Glagolitic trail: a letter A about 6 m tall, placed in 2006. The view runs down the valley to Baška with Velebit behind. The pass is also the trailhead for Obzova and the base of the zipline.

Where

Treskavac pass at the top of the D102, with a gravel car park.

When

Clear mornings, when Velebit is sharp.

Time

10–15 min

How

Pull into the car park at the pass; the boards there are the easiest way to start a hike without a map.

Tip: Ask at the Baška tourist office for the Glagolitic trail booklet: it has pages for rubbing each letter from the small plaque by every sculpture, which turns the drive into a game for children.

Fly the Treskavac zipline (all eight lines, or just the long one)

Zipline Edison: eight lines, 2,400 m in total, over the karst between Treskavac and the Baška valley, with the longest line about 700 m and speeds up to about 80 km/h. You ride up in an off-road vehicle. EUR 80 for all eight lines or EUR 45 for the single 700 m line (2026). About two hours, depending on group size.

Where

The Treskavac bend of the D102, next to the letter A.

When

Morning or late afternoon in summer. Book ahead to fix a time.

Time

About 2 h

How

Book by phone (+385 98 626061) or online via CheckYeti; walk-ins are also accepted. Wear trainers or hiking shoes, not flip-flops. In bad weather the booking is moved to another day.

Tip: The single long line (EUR 45 in 2026) suits a mixed group where only some want the full course. Riders must weigh 115 kg or less, and children under 12 ride with an instructor. Walkers can do the Obzova loop from the same car park first.

Draga Bašćanska: taste honey on the main road and look for the domed cisterns

Two things to do in the valley's top village. On the D102, Sherry's Honey Store and the neighbouring Babić stall sell honey and olive oil, and you can taste before you buy. In the village, look for the 'draški bunari': rainwater cisterns with a false stone dome inside and a flat stone top that collected the rain, a building type typical of Draga Bašćanska.

Where

The honey shop is at Draga Bašćanska 366 on the D102; the cisterns are in the village lanes.

When

On the way to or from Baška; the shop opens in the morning. Village feast of St Roch (Rokova): 16 August.

Time

20–30 min

How

Roadside parking at the shop. Walk into the village lanes for the cisterns.

Tip: Taste several honeys before choosing and ask where each was produced.

Find the three-stone letter L and the flower-shaped sheep pens

Between Draga and Jurandvor the trail's letter L is three stones stacked without mortar, a nod to the island's dry-stone walling. Nearby are the mrgari: large dry-stone pens laid out like a flower, where a funnel led the sheep into a central yard and each shepherd's pen opened off it like a petal. There are 10 in the Baška area and 5 on Prvić, some dozens of metres across and able to hold 1,500 sheep. The easiest to reach are Mrgari na Jakoši, a few hundred metres from the Gorica shrine, and Mrgari na Lipici at the end of the educational trail.

Where

Between Draga Bašćanska and Jurandvor: the letter L on the D102 side, the mrgari on the pastures near Batomalj.

When

Spring and autumn mornings; in summer early or late.

Time

30 min to 1 h

How

The letter is on the D102 side. The mrgari are on foot along pasture tracks from Batomalj or the Gorica shrine; the educational trail (Baška-Zarok-Batomalj-Pod Lipicu) links them.

Tip: These are working pastures: close every gate and leave the walls as you found them. The Moon plateau walk shows the mrgari from above.

Climb the 237 pilgrim steps to Our Lady of Gorica

A Marian shrine more than 600 years old on the hill above the hamlet of Batomalj. The last stretch of the marked path from Baška is a stairway of 237 votive steps lined with the fourteen Stations of the Cross. You can also drive up through Batomalj.

Where

On the hill above Batomalj. The 237 steps start at the first Station of the Cross.

When

Morning or late afternoon. In late August Batomalj holds a free summer evening (2026: 28 August).

Time

45 min including the steps

How

Park in Batomalj and climb, or drive to the top. There is a public toilet and drinking water at the top.

Tip: Walk up the steps and come down by the road. Pair it with the Jakoši mrgari a few hundred metres away.

See where the Baška Tablet was found: St Lucy's, Jurandvor

The Romanesque church where the Baška Tablet was found in 1851: a limestone slab of about 1100 in Glagolitic script that records King Zvonimir's gift of land and is one of the oldest records of the Croatian language. The original has been in the Croatian Academy in Zagreb since 1934; here you see a replica, a replica of Paolo Veneziano's St Lucy polyptych (about 1340), and a short documentary on a guided visit through the restored monastery rooms.

Where

Jurandvor, on the D102 just before Baška.

When

Open all year. On summer evenings the courtyard hosts free festivals (2026: Dobro Est Fest in mid-July and the International Guitar Festival in mid-August).

Time

45 min

How

Free parking by the church. Tickets EUR 6 (groups of 15 or more EUR 5; 2026) are sold at the reception in the small yellow building down the stairs, not at the church door. Toilets and drinking water on site.

Tip: Come back for an evening concert: the courtyard at night is the real draw.

Easy pine-shaded loop from St Lucy's to the Zakam cross

An easy walk from St Lucy's up to the low Zakam viewpoint, with a bench looking over Vela plaža, Prvić and St John's hill. The cross at the top carries a German-Croatian blessing ('God protect the land and the people'); Berchtold-Reisen of Kempten in the Allgäu gave it to the municipality of Baška in 2007.

Where

Start at St Lucy's church in Jurandvor; the path climbs to the Zakam cross (194 m).

When

Morning or late afternoon, all year; pine shade makes it one of the more summer-proof walks here.

Time

1.5–2 h (KRK HIKE 165: 6 km, 216 m, easy)

How

Park at St Lucy's. Trail and paved road, pine shade.

Tip: A good arrival-day leg-stretcher for grandparents. Don't continue from Zakam up towards Hlam with children: that section is steep, eroded rock.

Lunch in the valley: lamb roast at Malin

Malin, on the approach road at Batomalj, roasts lamb and suckling pig, with its own parking and a view over the valley.

Where

Malin at Batomalj 54, on the approach road.

When

Lunch after St Lucy's or the Zakam loop.

Time

1.5 h

How

Book in season (+385 91 252 8408).

After rain: walk the Vela Rika stream in oak shade

Vela Rika is a rare thing on the Croatian islands: a stream that runs for most of the year. This easy walk follows it from the Žanac spring past two small waterfalls and the Portafortuna cliffs, mostly in oak shade: one of the few genuinely shaded outings in the south of the island. In high summer the bed can run dry.

Where

Start at the Žanac spring by the Mošuna restaurant on the D102, near Draga Bašćanska.

When

March–June and October–November, best a day after rain. Expect a dry bed in July–September.

Time

2.5–3 h (KRK HIKE 162: 8.5 km, 360 m, easy)

How

Park by the spring on the D102. Well-marked forest paths; also used by the MTB route 453, which has stream crossings.

Tip: Carry your own water. The woods are hunting ground, so wear bright colours outside summer.

Parking

Gravel car park at Treskavac pass (also for the zipline and trailheads). Free parking by St Lucy's church for visitors. Gorica can be reached by car through Batomalj. Roadside parking at the honey shop on the D102.

Shops, water and toilets

Draga Bašćanska: a small grocery (Mon 07:00–12:00, Tue–Sat 07:00–14:00, closed Sun) and a post office (Tue and Thu 08:00–11:00). Drinking water at St Lucy's, the Gorica shrine and Draga; toilets at St Lucy's and Gorica (24/7). Roadside drinking water at the Žanac spring, start of the Vela Rika walk.

Sunday and seasons

The valley shop is closed on Sundays; buy supplies in Baška. Outside July–August, call the zipline before you go. St Lucy's opens all year. The Vela Rika stream flows mainly outside summer.

The Glagolitic letters by bike

The easy family ride KRK BIKE 451 (11.3 km, 157 m, gravel and asphalt) links Zarok, the Glagolitic letters, Gorica and St Lucy's to Draga Bašćanska. Bikes and e-bikes can be rented in Baška; book ahead in season.