It is the appeal of the Mala (Small) Paklenica and Velika (Big) Paklenica canyons that attract tourists to the Paklenica National Park in Croatia. The reason why rock-climbers love the canyons is the choice of climbing up the sunny or the shady side of the rock wall. Climbing can be nicely balanced as both sides offer a number of routes that vary in their level of difficulty and luckily have not been worn out and become slippery.
The 160 - 400 metre-high multi-pitch routes can be found somewhat farther inside the canyon and offer both sport climbing and traditional rock-climbing routes for beginners and experienced climbers. As you reach the highest points of these routes, a breath-taking view of the canyon and the nearby Adriatic Sea is revealed.
The perfect infrastructure of Paklenica makes you feel comfortable while co-existing peacefully with the untouched wildlife environment. Hotel-class rest-rooms cleverly built into the rock, as well as a souvenir and climbing equipment store do not come as a surprise here.
You can spend the night at a camping site; however, it may set you back as much as a holiday apartment for a larger group of travellers.
An excellent guide to the Croatian rocks: Boris Čujić, 'Paklenica'
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