Baške Oštarije is the mountain village most hikers know by name even if they have never slept there. It sits on the Gospić–Karlobag road at roughly 924 metres, about nineteen kilometres from the sea at Karlobag and a little over twenty from Gospić. From Stars Peak it feels like a neighbour on the ridge: same limestone world, same cool air, and a natural place to start or end a longer walk.
Oštarijska Vrata, the pass a short way from the village at about 927 metres, opens a classic Velebit view toward Pag and the Adriatic islands. On a clear day you understand why this saddle has always been a gateway — continental Lika on one side, the sea road on the other. In summer the altitude still feels fresh when the coast is hot. That is why many people combine a mountain morning here with an afternoon swim in Karlobag.
For walkers, Baške Oštarije matters as the southern end of the Premužić Trail. The famous dry-stone ridge path, built between 1930 and 1933, runs from the northern massif down to this pass. You do not need to walk all fifty-odd kilometres to feel it: a day section from Oštarije into the ridge is enough for most guests. Nearby peaks of central and southern Velebit are also reached from here, including routes toward Kiza and the wider Dabarski Kukovi line that ends above our own valley.
We send guests to Baške Oštarije when they want a mountain day that is not only Bačić Kuk from the door — a pass, a view to the sea, and the sense of standing on the spine of Velebit. Stop for the panorama at Oštarijska Vrata, walk as far as the legs allow, then return to Stars Peak for dinner under the same stars. Sea and summit remain close; this is simply the place where the road crosses between them.