Pag Cheese

Paški sir is a hard sheep's milk cheese from Pag, and the island explains it. Pag is stony and largely treeless, swept by the bura wind that carries salt spray inland and leaves a crust on the low herbs the sheep graze, mostly sage, immortelle and thyme. Milk from the island's own small breed is unusually concentrated, and the cheese made from it is dense, dry and salty, aged from a few months upwards until it is hard enough to grate. It is eaten sliced thin with olive oil and cured ham. Several dairies run tastings, and village shops sell it wrapped in paper without ceremony.

What you actually see

• The island pastures - bare karst divided by dry stone walls, with small sheep grazing salted herbs.
• Dairy tastings - young, mature and long-aged wheels compared side by side.
• Pag lace - the island's other craft, needlepoint lace still made by hand in the town.
• The salt pans - large evaporation works south of Pag town, the island's older industry.

When to go

Cheese is made from spring milk, so the freshest young wheels appear from late spring, while long-aged cheese is available all year. Pag is shadeless and scorching in July and August, and the bura makes winter crossings bracing. Late spring and September are the comfortable months. Dairy visits usually need booking a day ahead.

Honest expectations

Good Paški sir is expensive, on a par with imported hard cheeses, and cheaper wheels sold under the island's name are sometimes made elsewhere or with cow's milk added, so look for the protected designation. It is very salty and very dry, which not everyone enjoys. The island itself is stark to the point of bleak, and visitors expecting green Adriatic scenery are usually taken aback.

Nearby

The Velebit range faces the island across the channel, and Zadar is about an hour south.