Klek Mountain

Klek rises to 1,181 metres above Ogulin and ends in a bare rock head that from the town below reads as a giant lying down, which is the shape the legends work with: Klek was held to be a gathering place for witches, who flew here on storm nights, and the folklore is dense enough that it still gets repeated. The rock face was where organised climbing in Croatia began - routes were being put up here from the early twentieth century and the mountain remains a training ground. The walking route to the shoulder is straightforward; the summit block itself requires scrambling and is not a walk. A mountain hut sits below the face.

History

Klek has long had its legend: a 17th-century tale makes its summit a meeting place of witches and fairies on stormy nights. In 1605 the Vlachs of Gomirje named Mali Klek as one of the bounds of the land they lived on. Scientists came at the end of the 19th century: on 4 June 1898 a botanical and entomological party made up of Dragutin Hirc, Nikola Faller and August Langhoffer set out from Zagreb and next day climbed from near Musulin Potok to the summit in five hours and presented their findings in Ogulin, which inspired a second ascent on 14 August with Miroslav Kulmer, president of the Croatian Mountaineering Society, and the botanist Antun Heinz returned on 1 October 1900. Climbing came next: the first rock ascents were made in 1917, and the east and south faces trained many Croatian climbers in the early 20th century; the longest route is 150 metres. The mountain is also one of the best-known botanical reserves in Croatia (Wikipedia, Klek mountain, Croatia).

Highlights

• A rock head above Ogulin - reading as a lying giant from the town.
• A witches' mountain in folklore - the stories still current locally.
• Where Croatian climbing began - routes from the early twentieth century.
• A hut below the face - the base for both walkers and climbers.

When to go

May to October; winter needs proper equipment. A full day.

Before you go

The summit block is a scramble with exposure, not a hiking route, and people get into trouble on it. The bura wind hits the ridge hard. There is no water on the route above the hut.

Nearby

Ogulin is below; Plitvice is south-east.

Key facts