Rock climbing in the Kvarner Area and around Rijeka in Croatia
There are a few small crags to the north and east of Rijeka, though the best rock climbing area is near the town of Karlobag, where there are 3 crags. The largest crag is Dabarski kukovi, which is a collection of limestone towers rising from a hidden valley. It offers around 40 multi-pitch routes up to 185m high mainly in the F5a to F6c grade range. In the Kvarner area all of the single pitch sport routes are generally well bolted, on good quality limestone rock.
The crags of Dabarski kukovi (185m high) and Bozin kuk (220m high) offer good multi-pitch climbing of up to 6-pitches. For all the crags that offer multi-pitch climbing, a set of nuts and friends are required. Also note for some routes at Dabarski kukovi a 70m rope is recommended.
The spring and autumn are the best time to climb in this area, though it is possible to climb all year round at crags such as Losinj - Osorscica and Pag - Stogaj.
Map of the Rock Climbing areas around Rijeka and Kvarner
| No | Crag | Total No of routes | 4a to 4c | 5a to 5c+ | 6a to 6c+ | 7a to 7c+ | Above 8a | Project | Multi Pitch? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanjon Rjecine | 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | No |
| 2 | Kamenjak | 37 | 7 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 3 | Vela Pesa | 19 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 4 | Golubinjak | 64 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 26 | 1 | 4 | No |
| 5 | Vrbovsko | 50 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 15 | 2 | 4 | No |
| 6 | Krk - Portafortuna | 69 | 11 | 28 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 7 | Krk - Belove stene | 38 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | No |
| 8 | Krk - Bunculuka | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | No |
| 9 | Cres - Lubenice | 37 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 7 | No |
| 10 | Losinj - Osorscica | 39 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 5 | No |
| 11 | Cres - Babina | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 12 | Strogir | 19 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 13 | Dabarski kukovi | 49 | 2 | 11 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 14 | Bozin kuk | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 15 | Filipov kuk | 23 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 2 | No |
| 16 | Pag - Stogaj | 41 | 2 | 10 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
The above information has been extracted from the current 2022 edition of the rock climbing guidebook for Croatia, written by Boris Cujic. This guidebook covers all the crags around Rijeka and Karlobag plus the islands of Krk, Cres, Losinj and Pag.
The Istria and Kvarner rock climbing guidebook also covers the areas around Rijeka, plus the islands of Krk and Cres.
Both of these guidebooks are available to buy from our shop.