Fort Saint Michael — Attraction in Općina Preko

Perhaps unfortunately Fort St Michael is a bit of a mess. Lots of graffiti and vandalism. It was also home to a transmitter with an associated building probably from the 60 or 70’s. This has been decommissioned but left to fall into very unsightly disrepair. I’d also question just how old most of it is. There’s a lot of concrete buildings. Suggesting lots of repurposing over the years. There’s 2 ways to it. One is on the road nearly to top which carries on passed a climbing information board. Winding round this is a longer way up. There is also a very steep rough rutted track just opposite the climbing notice board. This is in very steep and in very poor disrepair with dilapidated steps and loose sharp stones and sand, so you’ll need good strong footwear at least good trainers, definitely not thongs flip flops or croc type shoes. Also advised as the interior is treacherous with the wrong footwear. It looks like there’s been attempts to prevent access with a big metal door, which is the open access up the steps in the photo, and other access points around which have been closed off. To start with a word of warning as you leave Precko turning right there is a sign about 400 metres along indicating a left turn to the fort. Ignore this instead carry on along for about 500 metres to a further left turn . There’s no facilities there, except some rudimentary parking. The walk up is very steep in places, and is an arduous trek so make sure you have plenty of water. I’d say best as a destination for a stiff walk rather than for the place itself. Views are...

We were staying in Zadar and took a day trip to Ugljan (you can see this castle from Zadar).

We hiked to this 13th century castle through the olive groves (rather than via the main road) which was a lovely hike and then a steep, but short, climb up to the ruined castle. The castle sits around 265m.

The castle is in ruins with signs saying “climb the walls at your own risk”!

Certainly, in the UK it would be considered too dangerous to allow people to climb the walls as they are broken/crumbled. There was only one other couple around the site when we visited in late June. Therefore, we did climb the walls carefully in order to get an even better view of the island/sea.

However, you can look at the beautiful views over the Zadar archipelago and Kornati National Park, and not climb about. It did make me hope that at some point areas are roped off and restored so it doesn’t deteriorate further as an important piece of history...

A most spectacular view of the island and a remarkable hike it took to get there. We used AllTrails to make our way towards the Fortress and upon arrival we were greeted by a truly beautiful view of the island, Zadar and the Adriatic. It should be noted that some of the trails were a little overgrown however not anything remotely impossible to traverse. The Fortress itself is, put simply, underdeveloped in terms of accessibility, however if you own a decent pair of shoes it is no issue at all. Also this means that the hike and the consequent rest at the Fortress, was the first time during my trip to Zadar where I felt I had escaped all the touristy cr*p of which there is plenty at the beaches and in the city. So I can highly recommend it. Also the fairy trip to the island was nice. By taking the trip via the harbour rather than the city centre, there was a larger deck on the ferry from which you could...