Walking in the Biokovo Mountain Nature Park, near Makarska,Imotski, Vrgorac
The horseshoe-shaped ‘Skywalk Ravna Vlaška’ on Biokovo is opened for public.
Biokovo – The beauty of Croatian national nature treasure never fails to amaze vistors. It is no wonder it is the most visited nature park in Croatia. Biokovo Nature Park is the most dominating presence on the southern Dalmatian coast.
Proclaimed a nature park in 1981, this mountain rampart towers a good 1700 meters over the Makarska Riviera and offers exceptional views over the sea and nearby islands.This magnificent mountain has always held an irresistible attraction. The Makarska Riviera, Imotski and Vrgorac in hinterland are a unique area along Biokovo. A tunnel St.Ilija (the 4,229 meters) is connecting the Imotski region with the Makarska Riviera through the Biokovo mountain sharing that story of natural treasure in two ways.
Biokovo Nature Park became the home of the most attractive walkway in Croatia! Skywalk -Nebeska šetnica opened for public from July 2
Skywalk is a walking surface at the edge of a cliff covering an area of 40 m², above an abyss around 100 meters deep at the Ravna Vlaška viewpoint, 1228 meters above sea level. From the viewpoint plateau there is a view of the open sea and the concrete-steel skywalk platform in an attractive horseshoe shape with a safety barrier and a floor made entirely of glass! This unique and attractive platform will enable visitors to enjoy extreme and unforgettable walks in controlled conditions. From the Skywalk – heavenly walk, visitors get a view of Tučepi, Podgora and Makarska, the Dalmatian islands of Hvar, Brač, Vis and Korčula, as well as Pelješac.
When the weather is particularly nice, after the famous Biokovo bura clears the horizon, the view reaches Cape Monte Gargano in Italy. As part of Skywalk’s landscaped environment, a geological pillar has been erected, a three-dimensional view of the cross-sections of the rocks that formed the Biokovo area from its inception to the present day with a geological table of time and a description of the age and type of rocks. The visitor’s centre of the Biokovo skywalk will also have an educational function and it will be located in the Župa Visitor Centre in the nearby Zagvozd municipality, which will be more specifically located in the old elementary school building.
It will be a reception and interpretation-educational site for visitors to northern Biokovo, namely Zabiokovlje, which presents and interprets the geology, geographical features, flora, fauna and even the old mythology of this rich area.
The Skywalk is one of the activities within the project “New Adrion” – Promoting the sustainable use of the natural heritage of Biokovo. By its geological structure and relief it is a typical mountain of Dinaric Alps. Some researchers find Biokovo as the most beautiful karst mountain.
Biokovo is unique because of the geomorphology and biological diversity, which is declared in a Nature Park in 1981. Nature Park Biokovo Protected Nature Park Biokovo extends over the Mountain.
There are many other peaks in the Biokovo Mountain Nature Park .Every step to the highest peak of Sveti Jure at 1762 m above sea level, will be rewarded tenfold with panoramic views of the sea and islands, of the Dalmatian Hinterland, the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighboring Italy. Biokovo is home to 87 churches and chapels. Along with its proud heights the mountain also has hidden depths. There are over 400 caverns and caves. Some of them are eternally covered in snow and ice which defy even the hottest sunny days.
People have inhabited Biokovo even before the advent of writing. This mountain is an old home that has preserved its ancient nature.
The Biokovo Mountains Nature Park rise steeply above the starting points and is popular with hikers and walkers. The lower slopes provide many paths and trails through olive groves, vineyards and pine forests, before extending high into the limestone mountain. It extends for around 195 square kilometres, and the tops provide fantastic views over the sea and the outlying islands. As well as a great walking and hiking area Biokovo Mountain Nature Park has over 1,500 plant and animal species. Visitors enjoy a fascinating, varied and wonderful Biokovo world.
Until recently, a sensation like this could only be experienced in dreams. But now, on the Biokovo Nature Park dreams and reality will meld into one with the Biokovo Skywalk.
author: Marijana Rebić
Photos: Pixabay.com
