Route: Dvori Sv. Jurja Agritourism – Picik – Skrbčići

The 4.8 km long hiking trail, which is exceptionally pleasant, especially in the summer, traverses the awe-inspiring western hinterland of the city of Krk and leads hikers through the wooded areas towards the village of Skrbčići, while also satisfying their gastronomic proclivities, seeing how the starting point meets the Dvori Sv. Jurja Agritourism at one point.

– The 4.8 km long hiking trail, which is exceptionally pleasant, especially in the summer, traverses the western hinterland of the city of Krk, bound to captivate all lovers of beautiful nature and thickets. Despite its distance from the coast, it offers a breathtaking view that unfurls towards the sea, including the stunning islet of Plavnik and the adjacent Cres Island. Hikers ready for a new recreational adventure will embark on exploring the wider area, all the while taking in the coastal vistas, from a lookout point of sorts, which is also home to a must-visit gastro hub famous for its local ingredients, Dvori Sv. Jurja Agritourism, where they will have the opportunity to taste products and dishes made from two fruits that are quintessential to the island – olives and figs. Overlooking Sv. Juraj Bay are the canopies of revitalised olive groves scattered over a network of dry stone walls. From the very start, these inspiring natural environments will beckon hikers to contemplate all the amenities of the olive: its resilience and dense tree rings as well as the highly medicinal leaves and the fruit, which is somewhat emblematic of the Mediterranean. That Krk Island has experienced an olive-growing renaissance is corroborated by the fact that the extra virgin Krk olive oil boasts a protected designation of origin. The mouthwatering fig is a hidden gem waiting to be savoured amidst the olive plantations. This highly valued fruit has been cultivated in the Mediterranean basin since prehistoric times. The island abounds in indigenous varieties, such as “Sušioka”, “Bjelica”, “Petrovača Bijela” or “Petrovača Crna”, whose fruits are mostly of top quality due to favourable edaphic and climatic conditions. The nutritional composition and medicinal properties, particularly of its leaves, elevate figs above numerous other fruits. Hiking resumes further westward through the woods of Picika to the final section above the bays of Valbiska and St. Fusca, from where you have to climb to Skrbčići, one of the four Šotovento settlements, whose long history is linked to the Church of St. Fusca (mostly with the original one, which was erected near the sea, in the vicinity of the village of Pinezići, as well as the new building constructed in the parish seat of Linardići). The settlement is attested to as early as the 16th century in a report by the Bishop of Krk Pietro Bembo, which holds the distinction of being the first fully preserved report on the visitation of a Bishop of Krk. Hikers can also visit the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, a local landmark which had been built in the late 16th or the early 17th century and was twice renovated in the second half of the last century. Perched above its distinctive facade is a bell-gable with two bells, one of which was donated by local fishermen and depicts St. Nicholas, the patron saint of mariners.

Highlights:

– Dvori Sv. Jurja Agritourism

– dry stone wall architecture – “gromače”

– Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Skrbčići