Rijeka Gulf/Riječki Zaljev, the City and Gorski Kotar from Mount Učka, Vojak Peak, 1401m; Istra/Istria Peninsula top Summit; Primorsko-Goranska Županija, Hrvatska
27-March-2023
The summit ridge of the Učka massif, which is part of its own Natural Park, can be (relatively) easily reached by car even in the winter season, since the narrow road starting from the Poklon Pass (928m above sea level; Lupoglav-Opatija road) towards the Vojak peak is kept (enough) clean to allow technicians to reach the radar where they work, while for tourists there are limits and sometimes the road can be closed with a bar at its beginning.
Obviously car accessibility (but the car park above is very small, it can't fit more than a dozen cars at a time) at the top creates the usual controversies: on the one hand it irritates those with good legs that would like car engines far from nature, but from other it helps those who (for all kinds of reasons) would not be able to get there on foot and, however, the presence of antennas and military radar have already "deflowered" this beautiful mountain.
In any case it is not for mass turism.
As a weather-landscape photographer, I consider the controlled accessibility as a great help to be able to quickly get to one of the best viewpoints in the whole area and capture the best moments, such as dusk or dawn without walking a trek of almost 500m in altitude (the minimum one from Poklon) in the beech forest in the middle of the night.
Despite the proximity to the populous Rijeka City and the (too) touristy Opatija Riviera I never had to jostle for a place at the top, on the contrary, I was often completely alone, of course choosing particular times and only going there on working days.
Rijeka Gulf/Riječki Zaljev, the City and Gorski Kotar from Mount Učka, Vojak Peak, 1401m; Istra/Istria Peninsula top Summit; Primorsko-Goranska Županija, Hrvatska
27-March-2023
The summit ridge of the Učka massif, which is part of its own Natural Park, can be (relatively) easily reached by car even in the winter season, since the narrow road starting from the Poklon Pass (928m above sea level; Lupoglav-Opatija road) towards the Vojak peak is kept (enough) clean to allow technicians to reach the radar where they work, while for tourists there are limits and sometimes the road can be closed with a bar at its beginning.
Obviously car accessibility (but the car park above is very small, it can't fit more than a dozen cars at a time) at the top creates the usual controversies: on the one hand it irritates those with good legs that would like car engines far from nature, but from other it helps those who (for all kinds of reasons) would not be able to get there on foot and, however, the presence of antennas and military radar have already "deflowered" this beautiful mountain.
In any case it is not for mass turism.
As a weather-landscape photographer, I consider the controlled accessibility as a great help to be able to quickly get to one of the best viewpoints in the whole area and capture the best moments, such as dusk or dawn without walking a trek of almost 500m in altitude (the minimum one from Poklon) in the beech forest in the middle of the night.
Despite the proximity to the populous Rijeka City and the (too) touristy Opatija Riviera I never had to jostle for a place at the top, on the contrary, I was often completely alone, of course choosing particular times and only going there on working days.