The island of Pag
The fifth-largest island on the Croatian coast, with the longest coastline of them all.
A long, narrow island
Pag lies in the northern Adriatic, stretching about 60 km along the mainland and only 2 to 10 km wide. Its deeply indented shore gives it the longest coastline of any Croatian island. There are two towns, Pag and Novalja, and many villages and holiday places such as Lun, Kolan, Mandre, Šimuni, Metajna, Vlašići and Povljana.
The island is split between two counties: the north belongs to Lika-Senj County and the centre and south to Zadar County. A 300-metre arch bridge links the south of the island to the mainland, and a ferry runs from Prizna on the mainland to Žigljen in the north.
A landscape shaped by the Bora
The side of the island facing the Velebit mountains looks almost lunar: bare white limestone with little vegetation. In winter the Bora, a strong, cold north-easterly wind, rushes down from Velebit and carries sea spray across the island, leaving a fine layer of salt on everything.
Only tough, fragrant plants survive here, such as Pag sage and immortelle, and the sheep that graze on them give Pag cheese and lamb their flavour. The south-western side is lower and gentler, with Pag bay, the large Caska cove and the karst lakes Velo and Malo Blato, a protected home for birds.
Beaches everywhere
With such a long coastline, Pag has beaches for every taste: long pebble and sand beaches, shallow bays for children and quiet rocky coves. Many are within walking distance of our house.
Olives, wine and the first wind farm
In the north, the Lun peninsula is covered with olive groves, including ancient wild olive trees. Grapes, among them the local white variety žutica, vegetables and fruit grow in the island's valleys. Croatia's first wind farm was built on the ridge near Pag town and has been running since 2004.