February 23, 2020 - For the third year in a row, AndAdventure is organizing the humanitarian and educational campaign Maestralan Hike on March 14, 2020.

The Maestralan Hike is an admirable endeavor from the team at AndAdventure to give back to the community while creating an active atmosphere for everyone involved.

The idea of the Maestralan Hike is a humanitarian and educational campaign for the kids of the Maestral Children’s Home in Split. The team at AndAdventure has prepared a guided mountaineering trip to Mosor with workshops at the Ljuvač meadow (at the foot of the Umberto Girometta mountain hut) to give the kids of Maestral a chance to adventure in the mountains, play in nature, and learn new skills. By organizing this event, AndAdventure hopes the children of the home can be educated and find higher interests in the benefits of an active life outdoors.

Furthermore, the ultimate goal of the humanitarian action is to raise funds to provide children with the necessary equipment for sports and recreation, and to enable the education of young mountaineers at the HPD Mosor Children's Mountaineering School.

Schedule for March 14, 2020 

9:00 AM

Children and organizers meet in the parking lot of HEP (Poljička)

9:30 AM

Arrival in Sitno Gornje (ground parking at the beginning of the hiking trail)

9:45 AM

Start hiking to the mountain lodge

11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Games workshops and entertainment in the meadow

3:00 PM

Return to Sitno Gornje

Maestralan hike is an event that gathers nature lovers and the children of the Maestral home in Split for a humanitarian hike. Through donations, the children and institutions are gifted with sports equipment. 

For any questions about how to get involved, how to get there and what to expect, call 0916047664 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also track the Facebook event here.

Join AndAdventure for the day, or if you’d like to support the cause, you can donate money for sports equipment to HR9225030071100103296.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 6, 2020 - The bura came back with a vengeance this week, blasting its way through Dalmatia with up to 270 km/h winds in some parts.

After a relatively mild offseason with temperatures in the teens, the harshness of winter hit in the form of hurricane-like bura winds on Wednesday. The already dead Dalmatian towns turned even more ghost-like as the powerful winds swept through the towns. 

As expected, the traffic stopped, ferries came to a halt, and the damage was inevitable. 

In Makarska, for example, a crane toppled at the Romana Hotel, construction material flew, and trees were cut from their roots. A similar scene could be found on the city beach, where pines fell to the ground. The wind even caused two traffic accidents and blocked traffic in the city center, but luckily no one was hurt. 

Wednesday’s storm caused extensive damage to the Star Village Mosor observatory in Gornji Sitno. The large dome of the observatory was completely destroyed and the large telescope housed beneath it was damaged. Because of this, the observatory will not continue to receive visits on Fridays and Saturdays, the Mosor Star Village Facebook page announced.

Photojournalist Matko Begovic visited Biokovo on Wednesday, where he made it to Sv. Jure, just about a hundred meters from the top. 

A little lower, on the platform that will one day be the glass skywalk, the bura howled. 

The boats rocked in the nearby Baska Voda.

Not even buildings could withstand the bura's force. Namely, Dalmacija Danas reported that the Tugare Community House in Srednje Poljice saw a lot of destruction, as parts of its roof 3 meters wide flew through the sky.

And it wouldn't be bura if it didn't come with a bit of fun. Like this trash bin flying through the busy streets, on its way to find work in Ireland...

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

October 28, 2019 - The Boranka campaign held this year’s third afforestation action, which took place last weekend in the Split area, and particularly Sitno Gornje, below the Star Village of Mosor, which was devastated in the catastrophic 2017 fire. Dalmacija Danas reports that the weekend saw a record turnout with about 1,200 volunteers participating in the Mosor action.

With the help of experts from Croatian Forests who educated volunteers and assisted them, the Boranka volunteers planted some 12,000 new trees over the weekend by seedlings, seeds, and acorns. Only the native conifer and deciduous species were planted.

The organizers of the action were the Scout Association of Croatia, the Split Scout Corps, Croatian Forests, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, the Civil Protection Directorate and the City of Split.

More than 300 scouts from Split, Omiš, Trogir, Dugi Rat, Velika Gorica, Samobor, Koprivnica, Stupnik, Okić, Križevci, and Bjelovar participated in the action. The Split Scouts were in charge of organizing and welcoming all volunteers over the weekend.

“A more beautiful and healthier environment is our common legacy for future generations. The Split Scouts will continue to be available to their community, and to all who have participated in this great undertaking so far, we thank you! We are embracing nature with more and more hands,” said Edi Peric, president of the Split Scouts.

In addition to the scouts, members of the Croatian Navy, students of the Split elementary schools of . Brda and Blatina-Skrape, students of the Archdiocesan Classical High School in Split, students of the Faculty of Kinesiology in Split, students of the Erasmus International Exchange Program, members of the Judo Clubs "Val" and "Student”,  members of the “Vuk Samotnjak” motorcycle club and numerous other volunteers from Split and the surrounding area joined.

Some 30 Raiffeisen Bank employees, the main sponsor of the Boranka campaign, and volunteers from Atos, also participated in the action.

As the Preporod Union is an exclusive partner in the Boranka campaign this year, more than 300 teachers and union trustees from across Croatia joined the action on Saturday, diligently planting new trees on the slopes of Mosor.

“An essential dimension of this action is that all our teachers are also classmates. I am sure that most of them will find ways to get their students interested in Boranka, and then not only Mosor but the whole of Croatia will be greener,” said Željko Stipić, president of the Preporod Union.

The Boranka campaign has been formally supported by the Embassy of Canada from the beginning, and the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Alan Bowman, joined the action on Saturday with his family. Ambassador Bowman also brought along representatives of the Canadian company Viking Air, who make the world-famous Canadair firefighting planes, to the afforestation action. The Viking Air Company was represented by the director of the company, Mr. Ben Carson and Mr. Mark Dodd.

“The issue of environmental protection and conserving forests and nature is one of Canada's top priorities. We are extremely pleased to be able to participate in and support such a laudable action in Croatia. We are also pleased that Canadian technology, in the form of Canadair firefighting aircraft, helps to protect against fires,” said Canadian Ambassador Alan Bowman, who planted dozens of seedlings on Mosor with his family and Viking Air representatives.

Support for the action was provided by staff and experts from the Croatian Forests and HGSS, volunteers from the City Red Cross Society of Split, members of the Civil Protection Directorate and firefighters from JVP Split and DVD Dugi Rat, and Split-Dalmatia County.

As in the previous year, primary school education is also held within the Boranka project. Scout experts, Croatian Forests, Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, Civil Protection Directorate and firefighters educate elementary school students on the basics of afforestation, protecting the forest and nature, fire prevention and the impact of climate change. After completing their education, the schoolchildren also take part in afforestation actions so that they can apply their first-hand knowledge and help in the regeneration of burned areas.

The Boranka action continues in the Kozino settlement near Zadar on November 9 and 10.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Dalmatia was hit with the bitter taste of winter (and bura) on Tuesday as temperatures dropped around the region. 

The 4th Mosor Film Festival has just been announced!

The annual ”Night of Museums" will be held for the 6th time by Udruga “Zvezdano village Mosor” (Star Village) at the observatory on Mosor. The event will be held in the evening on Friday, January 27, 2017.

Mosor is the mountain range located near the city of Split which belongs to the Dinaric Alps. Mosor stretches from the pass of Klis in the northwest to the Cetina River in the southeast.

With the fall of night, the canadair had to stop helping on the site and another 12 fire-fighters were left (all from DVD Žarnovica). Although the fire at Mosor was visible from Split area in the evening hours, according to the fire-fighters on site, the situation is under control.

Only at the top of the peak Ljubljan still some open fire, but there is no possibility for it to spread any further. All other areas have been extinguished. Another 5 fire-fighters remained on duty at Mosor for the Monday night.

In those, parts of the year when dipping in the sea is suitable only for those who don't mind about the water temperature, another great solution for outdoor activity is hiking. And when we talk about hiking in Split, most people usually think about Mosor.

Mosor is a mountain overlooking Split from the east, the one you just can't miss when watching any Split panorama looking in that direction.

With such position, Mosor became a natural option for any hiking beginners, so that mountain turned into a one of the most popular destinations for day trips for people from Split, which is usually good recommendation for visitors, too. It's mostly rocky, and look almost threatening, but once when you get there you will see that all the paths are excelently marked, challenging enough to enjoy it as a hiking spot, and easy enough so whole family can go up there. The highest peak is Veliki Kabal, on altitude of 1,339 meters, but the most popular as a goal is Vickov Stup on 1,325 meters. Scenery is very diversified, with lots of cliffs, meadows, and caves, but what is probably the biggest bait for everyone going to Mosor is the view. When sky is clear, you can see all the way to the most distant Central Dalmatian islands, and whole Split and Kaštela are lying like on a palm.

The easiest way to reach Mosor is by car, driving from Split either to Žrnovnica or, even better, to village of Sitno Gornje as a starting point for a hike. Route to the latter is available here. If you don't have a car available, you can take a local bus number 28 that drives from Split to Sitno Gornje and Dubrava. Schedule available here.

The most popular route is from Sitno Gornje to the top, with the first stop at the mountain hut Umberto Girometta. For less capable hikers, this building is usually the final destination. Hut is named after the founder of Split mountaineering. You can get a warm meal there, cooked at the spot, for reasonable price and in large portions. We tried it a lot of times, and it's a special experience, really good food. Also, there are rooms to sleep in, so day trip can turn into a weekend excursion.

Route to the hut is nicely marked, takes about 45 minutes, and is practically impossible to get lost, but always be careful of walking on rocks, for injuries. If something like that happens, call emergency number 112 for assistance. From Umberto Girometta's, after a break, you can take a hike to the top, either to Veliki Kabal, or to Vickov Stup, or even both. The latter solution is the most demanding, but also the most rewarding and challenging, here is the route for that one. Even if you don't bring this map with you, there are no problema for finding a right path, because of the markations - white with red circles - that will lead you all the way. Full route will last at least five hours. You can take a rest in a red shelter on Vickov stup, where you will also find a book to sign in, and a stamp. On Veliki Kabal you will see a big cross as a mark that you are on top, as well as sign-in book and a stamp.

If not capable enough for both summits, our suggestion would be route from Umberto Girometta hut to Vickov Stup and back. And then you can have well deserved meal and a drink. There are several nice meadows around where you can rest in the clean air, or maybe even play some sports, if not too tired.

Mosor is suitable for a hike practically year-round, but we wouldn't suggest it if it's raining or - rarely - snowing. Bring water with you, and you can re-supply at the hut. If you like mountain food, you won't need any to carry on, except maybe some energy bar, or a sendwich or a can as a reserve. Also, don't forget to wear appropriate shoes, and back-up clothes if you get sweaty. It's never too many times to warn you about being careful, to be safe in the mountain you have to respect it. Of course, this is just one of the routes you can take in Mosor, but the most popular. You can also walk from Žrnovnica, which is much longer, or to take another route from Sitno Gornje toward the top, via another shelter called Lugarnica. Some of the basic informations are available in English here.