Jelova Ruja - Panos

Access to starting point:
a) We leave the Adriatic highway in Karlobag and continue left towards Baške Oštarije; if coming from Zadar, turn right. The steep and winding ascending road leads us towards Baške Oštarije. We drive through a short tunnel and arrive at Baške Oštarije. After the Takalice pass the road slowly descends to the village of Brušane. When we arrive in the next village Rizvanuša, at the triangular intersection with a cross, we turn right. We continue on a narrow asphalt road past individual houses. After a good 3 km the road loses its asphalt surface and becomes a gravel road. At first we drive on a level road past a marshy field, soon arriving at an intersection where a footpath branches left to Visočica; we continue slightly right towards Visočica (by road). Another 4 km of ascending and winding road follows to the next intersection. Left continues the road under Visočica; we continue right. The road serpentines up to an intersection where the road to Veliki Stolac branches right (the path is marked but barely traceable from the end of the road). After the intersection the road first descends slowly; when we cross the ridge east of the peak Klepetuš, it begins to descend. When we reach the bottom of the doline, by a larger clearing, we arrive at an intersection where we continue left and after about half a kilometre reach the dilapidated hut Jelova ruja, where we park in a suitable place by the road. We can also park earlier by the road. The gravel road is approximately 12 km long. The road is not in the best condition, especially for lower vehicles.
b) We leave the A1 motorway at the Gospić exit and continue left into the centre of Gospić, then straight towards Karlobag and Baške Oštarije. When we arrive in the village RIzvanuša, at the triangular intersection with a cross, we turn left. We continue on a narrow asphalt road past individual houses. After a good 3 km the road loses its asphalt surface and becomes a gravel road. At first we drive on a level road past a marshy field, soon arriving at an intersection where a footpath branches left to Visočica; we continue slightly right towards Visočica (by road). Another 4 km of ascending and winding road follows to the next intersection. Left continues the road under Visočica; we continue right. The road serpentines up to an intersection where the road to Veliki Stolac branches right (the path is marked but barely traceable from the end of the road). After the intersection the road first descends slowly; when we cross the ridge east of the peak Klepetuš, it begins to descend. When we reach the bottom of the doline, by a larger clearing, we arrive at an intersection where we continue left and after about half a kilometre reach the dilapidated hut Jelova ruja, where we park in a suitable place by the road. We can also park earlier by the road. The gravel road is approximately 12 km long. The road is not in the best condition, especially for lower vehicles.

Route description:
From the dilapidated forestry hut at Jelova Ruji we return to the intersection. The bend can be cut by the marked shortcut. At the intersection we continue left. At first the road leads through the forest and ascends evenly. The forest gradually thins and we get some views towards Debeli Kuk and the surrounding peaks. The road is then carved into interesting rocks. When the rocks on the right end, we make a bend between dolines and return to the forest. From the first bend there is a nice view towards Stap. After about 50 minutes of ascent we reach a bend where the path to the bivouac Šugarska duliba and to Veliki Stolac branches right. We continue along the road, which, passing a posted sign prohibiting movement (valid at the time when there was an army on the summit of Panos), brings us to a larger grassy clearing beneath the wooded Crni vrh. After 10 minutes of walking from the junction we reach the left branch for Stap. The road becomes somewhat worse. Soon we reach the smaller rock face of Panos, where the fence along the road begins. We walk beside it to the dilapidated structure on the south-western side of Panos. Behind the structure we find the beginning of the dilapidated stone steps. We carefully ascend them to the summit, which has several entrances to bunkers. The summit is somewhat grassy and offers views in all directions.
Description and photos refer to the state in May 2026.

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