I had promised Dominika something more romantic. After all, it's our honeymoon. So a tough enduro trip through the Urals is out of the question. But Croatia? Dominika's eyes lit up - and I realised that she was thinking of crystal-clear Adriatic water, islands and a hammock. "That too," I added, "but we're going to experience it all from a completely new perspective." Namely from the Velebit Mountains. 1757 metres high, this mountain range stretches along the Croatian coast for 145 kilometres. The islands off the coast were once the foothills of Velebit, until the Adriatic flooded the lower valleys and turned the hills into islands. The main ridge, however, still rises imposingly into the sky today and is said to be accessible with a 50 kilometre long summit hiking trail.
The idea: we cross the entire mountain range at a leisurely pace and look for an idyllic bay at the end. It could hardly be more romantic. Dominika had already nodded more decisively, but agreed.
Five day rides through the deepest wilderness
"Velebit" means something like "great being". The Croats revere their coastal mountain range like the Greeks revere Mount Olympus. The side facing the sea is rather sparsely vegetated, while the inland side is very forested. You pass three national parks with magnificent scenery along the entire route. People are rarely encountered, but the central Velebit is home to bears, wolves, eagles and plenty of horned vipers. In the southern part, signs along the way warn of mines from the Croatian war. In this region, you should not venture more than two metres off the path into the forest. Accommodation: There are self-catering huts and hostels. The latter are also very basic and often have no showers, but at least they have drinking water, a kitchen and a bed.
You can download the entire mountain bike travel report on Croatia as a free PDF below.
