When traveling through Croatia, there’s a good chance you’ll have the waterfalls of Krka and the Plitvice Lakes on your itinerary. These are two remarkable highlights of a trip through Croatia, but what few people know is that there’s something beautiful hidden between these two places. When you drive from Krka to the Plitvice Lakes (or vice versa), you’ll pass through the Velebit mountain range. Most people follow their navigation and take the tunnel that cuts through it, but in our opinion, that’s a missed opportunity because the mountain route is fantastic, and you can take a beautiful hike to the mountain peak called Tulove Grede.
Northern Velebit National Park and Tulove Grede
In the Velebit mountain range, you’ll find two of Croatia’s eight national parks. The northern part is officially known as Northern Velebit National Park, where “Sjeverni” means North. In the southern part of the Velebit mountain range, you’ll find Paklenica National Park. Both offer various short and long hiking trails, and if you have the time, you can even embark on multi-day treks visiting different mountain huts. If you don’t have several days but still want to experience the beauty of the Velebit mountain range, we recommend climbing Tulove Grede.
What’s the hike to Tulove Grede like?
Tulove Grede is one of the most extraordinary peaks in the Velebit mountain range. The light gray rocks almost shoot straight up amidst the grass. From the highway, you can already see that this part of the mountain is quite different from the rest. After a scenic drive along an unpaved winding road, you’ll suddenly find yourself at the base of the Tulove Grede peaks. You can park your car here and start the climb. Since you’re already at a considerable height, the views are impressive right from the start. The initial part of the hike takes you uphill around the backside of Tulove Grede. Once you’re among the peaks of Tulove Grede, the landscape becomes even more stunning, and the farther you want to go, the more climbing and scrambling you’ll need to do. You can climb all the way to the top or simply enjoy the views halfway up. The hike typically takes about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on how many breaks you take.
Tip: The route is fairly well marked, but it can be helpful to download the map of Croatia in the maps.me app. This will show you the hiking trail.
How to Get to Tulove Grede
Tulove Grede is indeed on the route between Krka and the Plitvice Lakes, but you’ll need to take a slight detour to reach it. Instead of going through the tunnel, you’ll be driving over the mountains, which offers a scenic journey with a few picturesque stops along the way. This detour will add approximately 45 to 60 minutes to your travel time. Beforehand, make sure to download the map of Croatia in Google Maps and save the location of the parking lot because you may experience a lack of mobile network coverage in the Velebit mountain range.
Additionally, it’s important to note that after the climb, you can continue on the road and don’t have to backtrack. Since Tulove Grede is situated exactly halfway along the mountain route, Google Maps might sometimes suggest retracing your steps to take the tunnel, but that’s not necessary. You can proceed along the mountain road, and Google Maps will update the route after a few minutes. There are no gas stations in the mountains, so make sure you have enough fuel, water, and snacks with you.
