Starigrad Paklenica Coastal Gateway

The pleasant coastal town of Starigrad-Paklenica occupies a lovely stretch of the southern Velebit riviera — an 8-km ribbon of white pebble beaches, pine forests and small Dalmatian stone villages with the fortress-like wall of the Velebit mountains rising 1,500 metres directly behind. Starigrad itself is a modest low-rise resort town but its position makes it the ideal base for exploring three world-class natural attractions all within 15 minutes: the great karst canyons of Paklenica National Park (immediately behind the town), the crystal fjord of Zavratnica (30 minutes north), and the marine ecosystem of the Zrmanja and Krupa canyons (30 minutes east). Beyond its role as a base, Starigrad has some genuine charms — a small historic centre with a lovely 12th-century Church of St. Peter and the atmospheric ruins of the 16th-century fortified villa 'Vecla' just outside town, once home to a Venetian nobleman who wrote a still-important treatise on olive-tree cultivation in 1573. The town's Dalmatian food scene is excellent — try Konoba Vecla for the local specialty of lamb roasted 'ispod peke' (under a bell of hot ash) with rosemary and rock salt. Ferry connections run daily in summer to the Zadar archipelago islands.