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Croatia: Majstorska cesta

Nada and me decided to spend an extended weekend in Croatia. On our first day we decided to cycle on Majstorska cesta, a panoramic gravel road through some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Croatia. Majstorska cesta is a 36 kilometer long gravel road traversing the Velebit Mountain range and connecting Dalmatia with inland Lika regions. It crests at 1045 meters above sea level, at Mali Alan, and passes by Tulove grede, a natural rock formation overlooking the sea.

We parked our car and started the journey near Zaton Obrovački

 

Remains of the railway embankment from Winnetou film

Harsh environment

Field of windmills

Backpack was equipped with basic ingredients.

End of asphalt road. Thanks for the information.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Black Beast and Black Mamba

After seven years of construction and many complaints about the ever-increasing construction cost, Majstorska cesta was opened in 1832.

The roadbed is a combination of tarmac and compact gravel. The lower slopes are tarmacked on both sides to help local traffic. The middle 20 kilometers are all gravel.

Sveti Frane (St. Francis) church and Tulove Grede (1120m). Church was erected in 1832 to mark the opening of Mali Alan pass road.

Ruins near the church

Black Mamba on one of the curves with a view to Adriatic Sea

Another photo stop below the pass

Nada and her Black Beast on their way to the top

View to the Adriatic Sea from Chapel dedicated to Damir Tomljanović Gavran

Tulove Grede, a paradise for climbers

Tulove Grede is conglomerate of white limestone cliffs which vary in size and shape.

 

A little bit of climbing for a geocache

Winnetou movies were filmed in this area of Croatia

We moved on. Due to the gradient being below 5%, there is very little water damage on the gravel section.

You don't see many buildings near the road

The road connects village of Sv. Rok on the inland and small town of Obrovac near the sea.

Kraljičina vrata pass

There are still some signs that mark off the areas of the mountain that have not been completely cleared of land mines from Croatian War of Independence.

Nada rushing towards the highest point of our mountain bike trip.

 

Autumn riding

Highest point, Mali Alan pass, 1045 m

 

After we left the sea side of the Mali Alan pass, the land changed.

Leafy road

 

We left Majstorska cesta road and soon we ran into a muddy terrain.

 

Riding in Lika-Senj County, the largest in Croatia

No cars, no people, just pure fun cycling

 

Our direction is not on the table

Still a long way back towards the sea.

Nada is still happy. That is a good sign.

 

A little bit down and up again.

Back to the rough coastal part

Descending

Black Beast suffered a flat tire

 

First aid kid seemed to be working

 

Sharp rocks couldn't stop us

Back on the bike. The puncture was repaired.

The important characteristic of Velebit is its simple, solid form, stiff cliffs, and the nakedness of seaward side.

 

Towards the end of a beautiful day.

 The basic geological characteristic of the mountains is karst.

Whole day trip was quite exhausting.

"Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

Geocache

No more surprises. From this point our only direction is down.

This rocks marks the beginning of the marked trail towards the Mamet pit. The opening of the pit is elliptical in shape, with dimensions 60 x 70 meters and is 206 m deep. The biggest pits on earth are often a destination for base jumpers.

Majstorska cesta - Garmin Connect

GeoCaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "The Keyfob", TB5HV77, "Travel Fish Geocoin Rainbow Trout", TB59XCZ and "Loon", TB7EBX7):
- Mali Alan, GC6E703, where I dropped of trackable item "Travel Bug VALENTIN", TB6RV75
- Karl May Fansite, GC3KXGN
- This way, please, GC73NNJ