Blaca Hermitage — Attraction in Općina Nerežišća

Edit: DON'T LISTEN TO GOOGLE MAPS, FOLLOW THE MAIN ROAD UNTIL YOU FIND THE ROAD SIGN

Buckle up, fellow adventurers, because the road leading to the Pustinja Blaca monastery on Brac is a literal nightmare. I wouldn't wish this journey on my worst enemy.

Let's start with the road—or lack thereof. Calling it a "road" would be an insult to actual roads everywhere. It's more like a sadistic experiment in how much vehicular torture the average person can endure. Imagine a single lane carriage path, strewn with rocks and mud, that goes on for an excruciating 35 minutes. A 35-minute eternity of jolts, bumps, and shocks that will leave your spine and sanity shattered.

And don't even think about having a conversation with the GPS gods. The lack of signal on this road is an impressive feat in the age of modern technology. You'll find yourself in a communication black hole, cut off from the rest of the world, with nothing but the cackling of your own disbelief for company.

But wait, there's more! Brace yourself for the pièce de résistance: the deep sinks that masquerade as potholes. These craters could swallow a small planet, let alone your poor car. Attempting to navigate around these abysses feels like playing a real-life game of Frogger, with your vehicle's life hanging in the balance.

If you're seeking a thrill ride that tests your endurance, your vehicle's suspension, and your grasp on reality, then congratulations, the Pustinja Blaca road is your twisted dream come true. But if you value your sanity, your car's axles, and your general well-being, steer clear of this hellish path. Your spine and your vehicle will thank you for avoiding this monument to...

Altough it takes quite an effort to reach this remote monastery, I believe it is definitely worth your time on Brac Island. This place is rich with history and offers plenty breathtaking views of the surrounding nature.

There are two ways to get here: by car or by a boat, but both will require some hiking for the final part of the route. We drove in which meant that we needed to walk down to the monastery. Be aware that there is a long stretch (approx. 10-15 min) of macadam road after leaving the main road. You should leave your car on the parking lot marked on Google maps as "Parkiraliste Pustinja Blaca". From there, take a path down the trail marked with red and white circles. The trail is relatively wide, but its quality varies from loose slippery stones to nice solid ground path. You absolutely must bring sturdy shoes (no sandals or flip-flops !!). Large parts of the 2 km path are in shade, but it can still get very hot in the summer. It took us around 25 minutes to reach our goal.

The monastery is pretty much in its original condition so don't expect a lot of modern facilities. There is terrace with some benches in the shade for taking a break before going back to the car park. Be sure to bring plenty of water. Surprisingly, it didn't take us much longer to climb up the trail than it did to descend, but it could take up to one hour depending on the level of fitness and air temperature. Because of that, the best time to visit during the summer is relatively early in the morning,...

The place itself was beautiful. The tour was really informative and it is definitely worth the trip and the money. The walk from the parking place is not too difficult. However, reaching the parking place is more of a challenge. We followed Google Maps navigation to the parking place (called Parkplatz Pustinja Blaca), which is the starting point of the hike to the Blaca hermitage. However, right from the beginning it was a really tough road (with some large holes), which did not seem to be accessible by a ‘normal’ car (in my case Seat Ibiza 2017). Therefore we took a detour and tried to reach the parking place from another road, starting from the town of Milna (taking the most southern path of the island that can be seen on Google Maps). This was also a dirt road, but in the beginning not with as large holes as the previous road (although still hard to drive, proven by the fact that multiple cars turned around after having driven a long distance over these roads already). Almost reaching the parking place from this road, at the end this road also became too bumpy and we were not able to drive further. This was the point where we decided to park the car on a place near the road and walked the final 1,5-2k till the parking place. In the end we were happy we made it to the Blaca hermitage, because it was definitely worth it, but it is good to know in advance that the starting point is not so...