South Velebit hike-thru

The stretch from Tatekova Koliba hut to Šugarska Duliba shelter can be described as a classical hike. We continue along the mountains and climb a couple of peaks. The landscape varies, we get to see the Adriatic coast and also feel ourselves lost in the maze of limestone peaks. Today’s stretch is not the longest one - 13km - but the terrain won’t allow us to speed things up that easily.

Debeli Kuk (1.269m) from Tatekova Koliba hut:

Our first aim for today is the peak of Debeli kuk (1269m) that can already be seen from Tatekova Koliba. It’s an optional one as our main route does not cross it, however due to the little detour we need to make, it is really worth paying a visit. It’s also a great viewing point because in the immediate neighbourhood there are not any peaks with comparable height. When skipped we save around 1 hour and 15 minutes of time and 300 meters of ascent. After leaving Tatekova Koliba we get to the branch-off that leads in the direction of Jelova Ruja hut - we turn to the right. After a while the trail diverges again and the left branch-off will take us to the peak of Debeli kuk. Access to the peak is from its right side when looking from the trail, there is a bit of scramble around I grade of difficulty. Return path is same as ascent.

Panos (1.258m) from Debeli Kuk (1.269m):

After getting back to the branch-off we continue traversing slopes of Debeli Kuk in north-western direction. Now we descend a bit and then go up again a couple of times - this section proved to be more tiring than expected from the map. The steepest ascent awaits us on the slopes of Panos. This peak is also not on the route and is optional, however we also get to it to see the magnificent views. It is located in the old military base; it is advised to stay on the trail and not to walk around. Panos makes up half of the distance for today, we reached it after 4 hours - including Debeli Kuk. Otherwise, it would take around 3 hours to get here. There is also an option to get to Panos through Jelova Ruja, however I was advised that the Via-Adriatica variant is a better choice.

Šugarska Duliba shelter from Panos (1.258m):

From Panos we continue in north-western direction. The trail is now much more pleasant, the route is more like leisure walking, without much altitude difference and with great views. For us the experience was spoiled by chilly gusts of wind. In 2 hours we are traversing the Veliki Stolac (1406m) slopes and land on a wide saddle where the Šugarska Duliba shelter is placed.

Veliki Stolac (1.406m) from Šugarska Duliba shelter:

Peak of Veliki Stolac lies 750 meters from Šugarska Duliba, however it is not located directly on Via Dinarica trail. It takes 230m of ascent and around 30 minutes to climb. That's a nice addition to the stay in the Šugarska Duliba shelter because it broadens the views a lot. To get to the top we take the trail in direction of Panos and shortly turn left into marked trail that will take us to the top.

Tips and author's comments:

Since we arrived early at Šugarska Duliba and had spare time after grabbing something warm to eat, we went to observe the sunset from Veliki Stolac. Only at the top did we learn that the next day's stable weather was over, as the bura wind was setting in rapidly.

Accommodation:

Šugarska Duliba - we agreed unanimously that it was the premium hut we got to sleep in on the way. It’s a fairly new one, with cool interior design, good insulation, a heater for the winter time, and a water outlet. There is space to sleep for about 8 people on the benches, plus two additionally in the hammocks. The benches are wooden so a soft sleeping pad comes quite in handy. Water is available from a well in the vicinity, it is about 100m of walking. We heard that it gets a bit too hot inside in the summer, but had no chance to check that.

Links:Šugarska Duliba locationŠugarska Duliba info (Croatian)