Budaci - Velinac

Access to starting point:
a) Leave the Adriatic Highway in the town of Karlobag and continue left towards Baške Oštarije; if coming from the direction of Zadar, turn right. The steep ascending road takes us to a small plateau, where the place Sušanj Cesarički is. Here we continue left onto a narrower asphalt road towards Dabarski kukovi, which we soon leave and continue left towards Ledenik. The narrow asphalted road leads up and down through Ledenik Cesarički and Kućište Cesaričko to Budaci, where there is a fence. We park a little earlier at a suitable spot by the road.
b) Exit the A1 motorway at the Gospić exit and continue left to the center of Gospić, where we continue straight towards Karlobag and Baške Oštarije. After the end of the village of Brušane, the road begins to ascend and we arrive at Baške Oštarije. Continue driving through a short tunnel; the road begins to descend to Sušanj Cesarički. Here we turn sharply right onto a narrower asphalt road towards Dabarski kukovi, which we soon leave and continue left towards Ledenik. The narrow asphalted road leads up and down through Ledenik Cesarički and Kućište Cesaričko to Budaci, where there is a fence. We park a little earlier at a suitable spot by the road.

Route description:
From the starting point, continue to the last house, where we cross the fence, bypassing the house on the left side. There was a dog, but it did not bark or cause any trouble. Behind the house, continue through a strip of low bushes to an overgrown clearing. The path soon begins to ascend unevenly. The path is quite overgrown in certain places. The path makes a few small zigzags and leads over small rocks. Every few minutes, increasingly beautiful views open up. The path begins to ascend more steeply along an indistinct ridge, but when we reach below the steep slope, the path turns left, crossing the slope. We arrive at a small gully, which we traverse in small zigzags. The path is quite slippery here due to scree. At the top of the gully, the path begins to descend slightly to a junction, where the path to Premužićeva staza, Skorpovac shelter, Budakovo brdo... branches off to the right. We continue left towards Velinac. The path leads through a strip of forest to rocks, and over them we reach the panoramic summit in 10 minutes from the junction.
Description and photos refer to the condition in April 2024.

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