Paklenica National Park lies on the southern edge of Velebit, above Starigrad-Paklenica on the Zadar Riviera. From Stars Peak the drive takes roughly two hours along the coast road — south through Karlobag, past Starigrad — and the entrance to Velika Paklenica canyon is straightforward to find. It is a long day trip, and the distance is part of what makes it worth planning: a different chapter of the same mountain, seen from the sea side.
The park was declared in 1949 and is the oldest national park on the Croatian mainland. It protects two canyon systems: Velika Paklenica, wider and more visited, and Mala Paklenica to the south, narrower and wilder. Velika Paklenica canyon is carved by the Paklenica stream through limestone over millions of years; the walls rise several hundred metres in places, and the walk from the entrance to Lugarnica and beyond follows the stream bed through beech and black pine forest into open karst. Even without a summit plan, the canyon floor is worth several hours.
Anića Kuk, the vertical limestone face above the canyon, is the most famous sport-climbing wall in Croatia. Hundreds of routes of all grades draw climbers from across Europe in spring and autumn. For guests who climb, a day at Paklenica alongside walking guests at Starigrad is a natural split — the climbers go up, the walkers go in. For non-climbers, watching routes on the wall from below is its own kind of spectacle.
Manita Peć is the cave accessible to park visitors with a guide. It opens in the rock wall about two kilometres into the canyon, requiring a short steep path to reach the entrance. Inside, a sequence of halls and stalactite formations runs for around 175 metres. Tours run in season at set times; the national park website has current schedules. It is one of the better show caves on the Adriatic side of the Dinaric range, and because access is controlled, it remains genuinely impressive rather than over-lit.
We suggest Paklenica for guests who want to see how the mountain looks from the sea, who have a climbing interest, or who have already covered the Bačić Duliba routes and want something different before or after. Combine it with a swim at Starigrad if the summer heat calls for it. The drive back to Stars Peak along the Velebit coast, with the mountain on one side and the open Adriatic on the other, is a good end to a long southern day.