Rab - Premužić trail and Zavratnica bay

Rab - The Island of Happiness

Rab is an island on the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea, interesting for that, which unlike other major Adriatic islands has only eight settlements: Banjol, Barbat on Rab, Kampor, Lopar, Mundanije, Palit, Rab and Supetarska Draga.
Due to its location, Rab is extremely favorable for tourist activities, only Mundanije is a land settlement. However, until a few decades ago Rab was exclusively agriculturally oriented, and tourism on the island itself is still going through numerous challenges, but it is also resisting some fashionable trends.
The interesting thing about Rab is that the population does not decline, and the transition from agriculture to tourism does not take place quickly and violently.
Unlike its southern neighbor Pag, Rab is as much as 40% covered in woods, which makes it extremely interesting for walks and enjoying the landscape. As much as 106 ha of the island consists of the Dundo forest, which has been under constant state protection since 1949, and today it is in the category of a special reserve of forest vegetation, and is one of the few preserved holm oak forests in the Mediterranean.

The Premužić Trail

In addition to the beauty of Velebit and the magnificent work of forest engineer Ante Premužić, his name is also given to the beautiful trail on the Island of Happiness – Rab. The path from the church of Sv. Petra in Supetarska draga (it is one of the best preserved Romanesque buildings on the eastern coast of the Adriatic), to Lopar is about 6.5 km long and offers a wonderful experience of the ridge path, with some 150 m of altitude difference in one direction, which is certainly suitable for hikers who aspire to enjoy. There are numerous archaeological and ethnological sites on the trail. A few years ago, on this fact, a project was launched: Rab Archaeological Traces, and a part of Premužićeva from Supetarska draga to Lopar, to which we take you, is marked for hikers and cyclists as a Frux trail within this project. The most important part of this trail is Fruška pukva, which changes its appearance even to the lake shape, during heavy rains, and perhaps the most attractive area is Fruge, or fascinating soil erosion.
Numerous activities are held in this area in the form of walking, cycling, and art colonies.

After leaving the partly grassy and earthy terrain, breathtaking views of the sea, Lopar and Velebit stop. We descended to Paradise Beach in Lopar, which at almost any time of the year is quite acceptable for soaked feet and recuperated to return.

Zavratnica Bay

As the trail on Rab is not demanding, we also take you to Zavratnica Bay. Zavratnica, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful bays on the Croatian coast and as a significant landscape, can be reached in two ways; a hiking trail that starts a couple of tens of meters before the lookout or a trail by the sea from Jablanac. Zavratnica is part of the Velebit Nature Park, a path with a viewpoint was built at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as a promenade by the sea. Somewhere at that time Zavratnica became a hidden resort of the Viennese and Powder elite.

By its origin, Zavratnica is a flooded lush valley with canyon cliffs about 100 m high. The length of the bay is about 900 m, and the width varies between 50 and 150 m. It was formed in layers of chalk age from which, due to the great fragmentation, numerous sipars are formed, which are stopped by sub-walls, and by planting trees and low vegetation. In Zavratnica there are 129 plant species, of which 100 indigenous and 29 non-native species.

Text and photos: Željka Žirovčić