Local trails to the Villas
From the Luxury Sports Breaks Villa as your base you step straight into quiet lanes and trails immediately going for hours and hours without seeing a soul.
The coastal lane we are located on connects up one way to the fishing town of Milna (and the forested trails nearby) and the other way hugging the coastline bays and headlands towards the town of Bol. The views are delightful and I think I’ve only ever seen 4 cars here the entire time I’ve run this way!
Linking up to this are a network of fun and unique trails heading inland and UP UP UP..but the effort is worth it to turn around and gaze out behind you.
The locals are so delightfully friendly and I’m always waved at, greeted and even I’ve been offered water! (I did look a little hot)
DONKEYS...locals!...
Venturing on the trails towards Milna you can tour a massive network of forested trails nearby. There are local monuments and historical sights to add interest as well as local olive vineyards. You aren’t in the tourist hotspots but among real Brac life.
These paths are actually sign posted and part of a huge network of cycling trails which make it fun to follow, either mountain biking or running.
The road networks, being on this quieter island are therefore also really safe. For road cycling on long days over the rolling terrain or even running (many a time I have popped out on a road for a short cut and felt safe).
Longer runs have enabled me to run from the villas on the south side crossing the entire width of the island to bigger more tourists towns of Supetar and Sutivan. Some massive mansions, glorious beaches and many a ice cream await you there.
Some particular exceptional places I have been to on my adventures in Brac are below:
Bobovisca and Lozisca
Bobovisca is a short run/cycle away from Milna on the west of the island and settled in a cove. It is a peaceful unspoilt fishing village, which makes for a delightful run along the coastal paths before heading inland
Lozisca nearby is actually a world heritage site and boasts a stunning church tower-named the best in the island.
Vidova Gora
Brac is an unique island because of the Vidova gora mountain which is the highest peak of all Adriatic islands (778 m). Great for hill work!!
The very top of the mountain can be reached by car or by trails, and from the top spreads a breathless view on the slope of the south side of the island, the town of Bol and the famous beach Golden Cape (Zlatni rat) as well as on the islands of Middle Dalmatia.
I have run up from the town of Bol which took roughly just over an hour. The trail is fairly easy to run on though rocky and technical in sections. Every so often an opening breaks out in the forest and you are caught breathless by the views.
At high visibility even the Italian coast may be seen. Vidova gora hides many wonders of nature: from the dense forest of authentic black pine trees (Pinus niger Dalmatica) and its rich herbal and animal world to numerous caves and pits.
Zlatni Rat Beach
The most famous beach on the island is the Zlatni Rat beach. Located at the west end of Bol, this 1 km long beach stretches into the sea in a shape of a cone. Zlatni Rat is a wonderful beach to swim, but it gets really crowded in high season. A great place to sit on the beach and cool off in the sea after a long run or cycle.
If you want to skip the crowds, you'll need to go further out of Bol. The best way to do that is by boat. Beaches below the village of Murvica are also popular. They lay just few kilometres west of Bol.
Povlja, located in a bay of the same name, has gorgeous beaches too.
Pustinja Blaca
This was an absolute magical treat I discovered on my own randomly in the middle of a long run and it took my breath away.
The Deserted Pustinja Blaca is situated on the west side of the mountain Vidova gora. It can be reached only by macadam road (around 6 km) and a trail (around 30 min. walk). I ran there via the coastal trails which included a brilliant rocky descent down an amazing switch back.
The Blaca has immense cultural, scientific and architectural importance, not only for the island Brac then for the whole of Dalmatia. Pustinja Blaca is actually an eremitial monastery which was founded by the glagolitic priests from the mainland who escaped the Turks around year 1550. After the permission of the island authorities to settle down on this area, throughout the centuries this simple cave shelter of Ljubitovica became monastic and economic complex of great importance. The priests lived independently over 400 years till 1963 when the last priest died and the monastery turned into a museum. Monastery Blaca was built in an interesting position hidden between high cliffs of the canyon and this gives it a misterious charm. Within the monastery there is a church, then a school for children, a library with nearly 8000 books on 5 languages, an astronomical observatory etc.
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007.
Dragon’s Cave
Zmajeva špilja (Dragon’s cave) is situated on the south side of the island, underneath the cliffs of Vidova gora and over the village of Murvica. It can be reached by the picturesque walking path (around 40 min. walk). The historians didn’t exactly establish when or who made this rare monument, but its cultural and artistic (and secret!) value is not in question. Inside the cave there are many reliefs of figures from the Slavic mitology and Christianity made in the very stone of the cave. The dominant figure is one with the dragon and the cave was named after it. The eremites who lived here long time ago probably enjoyed beautiful nature and the panoramic view as well as todays visitors who are coming to see this misterious cave. Nearby there are several abandoned monasteries which are also worth to visit.
Škrip-The museum of the island!
Škrip is the oldest settlement on the island of Brac, c.3000 years old. Set on the top of the hill, with its belfry, church facade and huge towers it appears like a town lost in this stony area by coincidence. Škrip is a town-monument in which Illyrians, Romans and Croatians deposited their ethnic layers, as the evidence of their presence. It is the whole of Brac in itself and it represents a very heart of the authentic island. In Škrip, there is the Regional Museum of the island with its rich collection from Roman time, late antiquity and early medieval monuments and sculptures as well as interesting ethnographic collection.
Pucišca
On the island Brac which is an everlasting source of white stone, the tradition of stone-cutting dates back to the time of Romans. From this famous stone were built some of the world well-known buildings (the Diocletian’s palace in Split, the White house in Washington, the Parliament in Budapest, the Reichstag in Berlin etc.) This old tradition continues even today, especially in the town of Pucišca where exists an unique school for stone-cutters (the only one in this part of Europe). In this school young people learn, like their ancestors, how to do this difficult job.