Municipality of Lovinac - Speleological objects
In the Municipality of Lovinac, there are a lot of speleological objects that are not explored enough. The most famous cave is Debeljača, which is the largest known speleological object in this area. It was discovered during quarrying for the construction of highways. There is Vranik cave above the village Vranik which is currently closed for visitors and is only open to archaeologists. Inside the cave, the archaeologists found numerous remains of pottery which are probably from the time when the region inhabitants were Iapodian tribes. Rokina cave, also known as Brkića cave, is located in the hill above Piplica and is available for visitors. It has particularly outstanding cave decorations. The cave in Zir was previously a "bad weather" shelter for local people and their livestock. Today you can visit it while climbing to hill Zir. Brkina cave in Resnik has always been visited by local residents who entered into it to prove their youthful bravery. The Rabbit's cave, Babina Cave and Strmotić abyss, are reserved only for experienced and equipped speleologists. These caves are good examples of karst topography, such as the picturesque-shaped peaks, cones, beams, sinkholes, rocks, or karst depression.
Lovinac - Croatia/ Lika-Senj county
Tourist experience: Adventure tourism; active tourism. For speleology lovers, the karst area of Lovinac has many hidden gems found in the surrounding hills.
Spoken languages: English, Croatian
Experience duration: 1 day
Opening: Always available
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: Not accessible to people with mobility problems or those untrained in speleology for more demanding caves
Tourist contact: Nature Park Velebit
Natural heritage: Naturalistic itineraries, Mountains, Hills, Caves, Flora, Hiking trails, Speleological object
Hidden tangible patrimony: Landscapes, Pathways
Hidden intangible patrimony: Community tales
Experiences: Cave exploration
Form filler: Tamara Božić Smojver
Municipality of Lovinac - Zir mountain
Zir is a mountain 850 m high, located in the municipality of Lovinac. Seen from a distance, it seems like a mountain has grown in the middle of the plain. There are two legends about the origin of its name. The first is that the mountain served as an observatory during the Turkish conquests. The peak Zir was an ideal place to control the Lika Valley. The second legend says that with its beauty, it always attracted the eyes of travelers who looked at it. In Croatian language “zurenje” means "looking".
unknown Lovinac - Croatia/ Lika-Senj County
Tourist experience: The top of Zir can be reached in approximately 1.5 hours on foot. The trail passes through the forest, then next to a cave and on the steep rocky cliffs, and then there is the harder part on the rocks towards the stone head of Zir. The ascent to the stone head is a bit steeper and there are cables in two places to help climbing.
From the top of Zir, beautiful views are spreading in all directions. One can see the entire southern Velebit (Crnopac, Sveto brdo, Vaganski vrh, Visočica, etc.) all the way to the middle Velebit and also a large part of the northern Velebit.
Experience duration: 2 hours
Opening: Always available
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: Not for people with mobility problems
Tourist contact: Siniša Radulović Lovinac Tourism Forum
Natural heritage: Naturalistic itineraries, Mountains, Hills, Flora
Hidden tangible patrimony: Landscapes
Form filler: Tamara Božić Smojver