Ascent of Ljubičko brdo and Medvjedi kuk

From the restaurant in Baške Oštarije (920 m), head right along the road and after about three quarters of a kilometre, turn left at the junction by the church. You will pass a few of the last houses, and the asphalt gives way to a gravel road.

Continue with a gentle climb between the pastures beyond the village and into the forest to the first junction, where you turn left onto an ascending footpath. After about 200 metres of ascent, you emerge from the forest onto grassy slopes and the first views begin to open up.

Ljubičko brdo

From here, it is another roughly 150 vertical metres up the path to the cross on the summit of Ljubičko brdo. Ljubičko brdo (1,320 m) offers superb views of the sea, the pastures around Baške Oštarije, the neighbouring Kuk od Karline plane, and other peaks of the Velebit range.

Kuk od Karline plane

The route then drops briefly before climbing gently again along a rocky ridge to Kuk od Karline plane (1,336 m). Despite the rocky ground and the steep drop on the right-hand side, the ascent is not particularly difficult. A few trickier spots around and just below the summit require the use of your hands. At the start of the descent, you will also come across a few iron staples. This is followed by an easy path to the saddle below the summit of Medvjedi kuk.

Medvjedi kuk

From the saddle, a side path leads up Medvjedi kuk on a worn trail that soon turns into rocky terrain that is steeper in places and more demanding, where you need to use your hands and be basically confident moving over rock. In several places, iron staples again make the ascent easier by helping you over the hardest sections.

At the summit of Medvjedi kuk (1,250 m), there is plenty of space for even a larger group to rest and have a snack.

Descent

Descend back to the saddle the same way. From the saddle, continue on a comfortable forest path below Medvjedi kuk until you reach a gravel road. It descends gently to a junction below another striking rocky peak, Kiza (1,274 m), and then on to the isolated hamlet of Stupačinovo, where on the edge of the settlement you will find the Vrilo Petrovac spring. Beyond the hamlet, the gravel surface turns back into asphalt and continues gradually downhill to the restaurant in Baške Oštarije.

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