Rock Climbing in Paklenica

The National Park of Paklenica is at the heart of Croatian rock climbing and is known as one of the top European rock climbing areas. Paklenica is a place of outstanding natural beauty, situated close to the sea near Starigrad-Paklenica.

The rock climbing is very varied from single pitch sport routes to big wall rock climbing routes up to 350m long, catering for the absolute beginners to the most experienced rock climber. In total there are nearly 600 routes here on good quality limestone rock, of which the majority of the routes are bolted.

There are over 300 single pitch sport routes mainly located at the entrance to the park, only a few minutes’ walk from the car park. The rest of the routes at Paklenica are multi-pitch with a mixture of pure bolted routes to trad routes requiring the placement of nuts and cams. The classic Anica kuk face has some big wall multi-pitch climbing up to 350m long.  The definitive guidebook is called “Paklenica Rock Climbing Guidebook” that is available to buy from our shop.

In total there are nearly 600 routes in Paklenica on superb limestone rock. There is everything from single pitch sport routes to big wall rock climbing up the 350m face of Anica kuk (up to 11-pitch routes). Therefore Paklenica is ideal for everyone from the absolute beginner to the most experienced rock climber. With the exception of Anica kuk that generally faces north, the vast majority of the other crags face either east or west meaning you can always be climbing in the sun or shade, depending upon your preference.

From the car park a path leads up through a narrow section of the gorge know as Klanci. This is where the majority of the single pitch sports routes are and the start of these can be reached inside 5 minutes from the car park. The routes are located on both sides of the valley, on small independent faces and steep over hangs, at the base of the peaks of Kuk od Skradelin, Cuk and Debeli kuk. In this area there are over 170 routes between F5a to F8b+.

The majority of the multi pitch routes are located on the faces of Anica kuk, Debeli kuk, Cuk, and Mali Cuk. Particularly on Anica kuk the atmosphere is of big wall traditional rock climbing, requiring the placing of natural gear such as friends and nuts, though the classic lines have been re-equipped with bolts.

Anica kuk is the classic crag of the valley, with its 350m high NW face, and only a 45-minute walk from the car. This crag alone has over 100 multi pitch routes, from F4 to F8-, with climbs up to 11-pitches long.

Debeli kuk is also a classic crag with the added bonus of being nearer the car park. The climbs are shorter, though they can still be up to 6-pitches long.

Paklenica is reached from the small coastal town of Starigrad-Paklenica, which is approximately 46Km from the tourist town of Zadar. The National Park is well sign posted off the coastal road. Further information about getting to Paklenica is available here.

Climbers are required to purchase a climbing pass, available at the park reception. It should be noted this pass only allows climbing within the designated climbing area.

Paklenica is also a great place to go walking that combines craggy limestone gorges, caves, dense pine forest and meadow-carpeted alpine uplands. Find out more...