Biokovo is one of the most beautiful Croatian mountains and largest one in Dalmatia. Top of the TV relay tower on its highest peak is also the highest point in Croatia (1850m). There are lot of things this mountain offers. Rock climbing, hiking, trail running, paragliding, alpinism and many more. It’s also protected nature park and there is a road going through it ending at the highest peak of Biokovo, Sv. Jure. Mountain huts scattered through the mountain allow few days stay in the park.
Most of the mountain lovers would agree that mountain shows its true face during the winter months and that is the main reason why we chose to venture in this adventure while the mountain is covered in snow. There are some organized tours by local hiking clubs during the winter months and there is also a tour called Biokovo’s Wolf (Biokovski vuk) in which one needs to walk through 100 kilometers of Biokovo to get a title of a same name.
Our final destination was Vošac peak, not the highest Biokovo peak but definitely one with the most beautiful view. Vošac is situated just above the city of Makarska and on the top of it there is a mountain hut for all those who fall in love with the scenery and choose to stay overnight. Watching from Vošac, you can see Makarska just below you and islands of Hvar and Brač in front of you.
There are many entrances in Biokovo nature park, and there are many routes one can travel to reach one of its peaks. The easiest route and one traveled the most by tourists is by car through the park all the way to the highest peak of Biokovo. The road goes all the way through the nature park and there are many tour operators doing one day trips to Biokovo. Definitely a thing to do while at Makarska Riviera. During the winter this road is officially closed.
To reach Vošac takes approximately 4 hours of walking starting at Makarska. You would need about 3 more hours to reach the highest peak, Sv. Jure. During the summer it can be done in one day (with a lot of water and right equipment) but short winter days make this tour at least 2 days long if you do not plan to travel by night.
We started our trip when the sun was touching the highest point of the mountain. It was snowing day before so we knew that we will be walking through the snowy scenery. Some of the peaks were still engulfed in the clouds and we expected them to clear until we reach the top. On our way we were following wolf’s footprints in the snow and as we were climbing further there were more and more various animals footprints in the snow.
Soon we entered the clouds and spend some time in the quiet and dark ambience of the mountain with chamois being our loyal companions. We could see nothing but we enjoyed every moment hoping the clouds will clear soon. It was like the mountain was not ready to show us the creations of past night. And right about the time we were close to the top clouds started to clear and we started to see the mountain in all of its glory. First through small holes in the clouds, and later almost all of the scenery.
To be honest, it was much more interesting like this, being one moment in the cloud, and other one enjoying the scenery. It was almost like the mountain was showing us where to look at any given moment. Usually from the Vošac peak looking to the sea you can see Makarska right below you, islands Brač and Hvar in front and during the really clear days you can see all the way to the Italy on the other side of Adriatic. Behind you rises the Sv. Jure with its huge TV relay.
Scene was astounding and we stood at the top more than we wanted to meaning that we will witness the sunset while descending. And what a sunset it was. Its glow reflecting from a snow giving it a purple color and a thin clouds still drifting in front of us. Magical scene. We reached the starting point during the first night hours, just in time to see moonlight reflecting from Biokovo and with the mountain still in our minds we silently drove along the coast thinking about next adventure.
