Some posts include compensated hyperlinks. Please learn this disclaimer
for more information.
We’re persevering with our collection on methods to take pleasure in Croatia within the “new regular”, with actions which might be the right strategy to hold your distance from individuals – keep away from crowds, but nonetheless benefit from the magic and sights of Croatia.
Getting out on two wheels is one easy strategy to escape the hustle of town, however venturing out into lesser-visited locations like these in Slavonia in jap Croatia ensures you much more likelihood for peace and quiet.
Written by Senka Vlahovic from Boho Journey Artwork. Pictures by Mario Koren.
The very first thing that involves my thoughts after I take into consideration the area across the metropolis of Virovitica is – soothing. The second one is biking.
Virovitica county has made fairly an effort in constructing, advertising, and selling biking routes and roads in the previous couple of years. And one man, my good friend Mario from biking portal Nippy Adventures, has put in monumental effort to make use of these routes and roads on his excursions.
Mario is each a biking and images lover with a few years of expertise wandering round Slavonia and Podravina. He has additionally participated within the implementation of the vital biking initiatives Drava4Enjoy and EuroVelo13.
Mario doesn’t solely trip his bike and promote biking in his county, he additionally broadens cooperation with neighboring counties, and he was the recipient of the award “Merely the Finest,” an annual Croatian award for high quality, inventiveness, and creativity in tourism. Mario additionally organizes group bike excursions for locals, known as a biciklijada in Croatian. These biciklijadas are by no means nearly biking, they embrace native conventional meals, family-run farms (OPG), cultural sights, and extra just lately, additionally boat rides on the Drava river. Mario all the time tries to remain inventive in creating his bike excursions.
Okay, sufficient about Mario, let’s discuss just a little bit about locations the place he likes to trip his bike – Podravina, and Slavonia.
Central and jap Croatia, together with two geographical areas, Slavonia and Podravina, meet collectively within the Virovitica-Podravina county. Virovitica-Podravina County is bordered within the south by Bilogora, Papuk, and Krndija mountains that progressively merge with the Pannonian Plain.
In its northern half, the county is bordered by the Drava River, which flows for greater than 100 kilometers, and in addition borders Hungary. Podravina is known as after the Drava river.
You’d be shocked to search out out that this a part of Croatia could be very wealthy in pure heritage. Listed here are simply six of them:
- This space is a part of the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura – Drava – Danube inside the UNESCO community of biosphere reserves
- The Nature Park/UNESCO World Geopark Papuk is positioned in two counties: Virovitica-Podravina and Požega-Slavonia counties. It covers an space of 336 km 2
- Monuments of park structure in Virovitica, Suhopolje, Voćin and Slatina, a mammoth tree in Slatina, and a bunch of timber in Noskovačka Dubrava
- Protected landscapes are situated alongside the Drava River within the municipality of Pitomača: Križnica, Jelkuš, Širinski otok and the wetland habitat Vir
- The Lisičine Arboretum
- The solely Croatian desert “Đurđevački Peski” is positioned in a neighboring county
This a part of Croatia consists of mountains lined with attractive forests intertwined with many roads and paths, inexperienced fields, conventional villages, and family-run farms (OPG) the place you possibly can take pleasure in domestically produced meals and wine.
Mario Created A number of Excursions That Embody All These Beauties
Listed here are two biking excursions you could like.
Podravina Bike & Boat Tour
This tour combines biking and a ship trip on the Drava river and has some fairly thrilling and yummy stuff included within the supply:
- Tasting of a standard dish known as “zlevanka” and sightseeing within the medieval city in Đurđevac
- Driving on a macadam highway via the previous Podravina forests
- Tasting of Podravina wines and home made cheeses at Lake Batinske
- A go to to the ethno-house of the Karlovčan household in Brodić
- A ship and speedboat rides on the best-preserved a part of the Drava river
- Lunch onboard the boat
- Home made strudels on the restaurant Dravska Iža
- Crossing over the slender suspension bridge to Križnica over the Drava river by bicycle
- A go to to the one Croatian desert Peski and a motorbike trip on the dunes
This tour begins and ends on the Previous city of Đurđevac in Koprivnica-Križevci county.
Biking By means of The Childhood Playground Of A Well-known Croatian Poet
This tour lets you discover out extra about the place the well-known Croatian poet Petar Preradović was born, using a bicycle via the locations the place he spent his childhood within the 19th century.
Petar Preradović was a traveler, Basic, and poet who wrote poems with verses stuffed with a powerful love for the homeland and his mom. He was eager for the heat of house that he tried to search out all through the remainder of his life whereas dwelling overseas.
Listed here are some highlights of the tour:
- A conventional Podravina breakfast in Zlatni Klas
- Visiting the birthplace of Petar Preradović
- Driving via tame Podravina fields
- A go to to the Šipek vineyard in Veseli Brijeg
- Trip the gorgeous slopes of Bilogora via the Podravina villages Kozarevac, Suha and Sirova Katalena, Budrovac and Čepelovac
- A go to to the Previous city and the museum in Đurđevac
- A cease on the geographical-botanical reserve Đurđevački Peski and Lake Batinske
- Trip via the previous Podravina forests
- A go to to the suspension bridge on the Drava
- A cease on the observatory in Pitomača
Mario has a YouTube channel with movies so you possibly can see for your self how wonderful the excursions are.
I warmly suggest you to come back and discover this a part of Croatia, and also you gained’t be disillusioned.
The place To Keep In Slavonia And Podravina
For lodging, you have got very fascinating choices.
If you’re a romantic soul (like me), you possibly can keep within the manor from the 19th-century, which is now the Kurija Janković Heritage Lodge situated simply 5 km from Virovitica. The lodge additionally gives bicycle leases.
If you’re eager to expertise conventional life (like me… once more), I like to recommend you keep within the rural property Zlatni Klas in Otrovanec, part of Pitomača city. Right here you possibly can go away your bicycle to relaxation and check out using a horse as an alternative.
For extra data, please contact Mario, and he’ll gladly enable you to discover the proper tour to fit your wants.
In the event you discovered this text helpful, be sure you present it some love, share it with pals.
Extra Methods To Uncover Croatia With Social-Distancing
Share