The National Park of North Velebit, founded in 1999.
This is our youngest and extremely mountainous park. It covers the most attractive and most valued natural area of north Velebit, part of which is under special protection. The most valuable part is the strict nature reserve called Rožanskih and Hajdučkih kukova- especially the geomorphological phenonmenon of the white limestone giant boulders; there is also the Velebit Botanical Garden; Botanical reserve Visibaba, the site of the Croatian sibirea (Sibirea altaiensis ssp.croatica ) and the Forest Reserve ”Borov vrh” with the well-preserved indigenous black pine forests (Pinus nigra).
There are a large number of caves : ” Luka’s pothole” wth a depth of 1392 meters, being the ninth pothole in depth in the world, and ” Patkov gušt” a pothole with the second largest vertical in the world -553meters. It is not surprising therefore that climbers and potholers consider this area to be the greatest jewel of Croatia’s mountains.