Pag island never ceases to surprise me. Its stunning, moon-like landscape, its food, its secrets and mysteries dating back to the dawn of the civilization… The geology of Pag is quite unique and the island is full of unique spots. A while back, there was a talk about a mysterious UFO landing spot, too: https://secretcroatia.blog/2010/12/23/the-pag-triangle-mystery/

But, while that can only be one of the curiosities, the landscape of Pag offers much more! To me, Beretnica beach is one of the most special places not only on Pag Island but also on the entire coast. Best of all, it is off the beaten path of hordes flocking to see the “holy trinity” of Croatian destinations: Plitvice, Hvar, Dubrovnik.

Pag Island is also a popular destination with best known party beach (Zrče) in the region and generations of loyal visitors from countries like Slovenia, Czech and Slovak republics… Still, many parts of the island are remain untouched.

Metajna is the closest village to Beritnica beach. It is easy to reach following the main road to Novalja and then following the signs for another 12 kilometers. Metajna is a typical village with most buildings these days just housing apartments for their short tourist season. But this part of the island is simply stunning!

There are several lovely beaches surrounding Metajna most famous being pebbly Ručice beach which can be easily accessed by a narrow road. There is a spacious parking next to the beach.

The parking near Ručice is the perfect spot to start the easy hike to Beritnica. The trail is not really marked but it is still easy to follow and one cannot really get lost. Just follow the path starting from the parking and up a small hill overlooking the Ručice beach. From there, it gets quite interesting with landscape getting crazier and crazier  – no matter what direction you look at!

This is actually one of the marked climbing directions on the island. It is called Stogaj and it is easy to spot thanks to a very unique “tower”.

Probably the biggest surprise was the fast that there is so much water here. No one would guess just by seeing the barren landscape that there are several streams flowing all the way to the sea.

And once one gets deep in the canyon, it gets prettier.

The canyon is a special place with all sorts of formations and shapes. There is a large colony of wild pigeons in the canon living in the holes and resting on the rocks.

And then the view opens…

This part of the trail is not as easy as the first part and some effort is required. That is why most people come here by a boat during summer months.

The beach is pebbly and great for families with children. The main “attraction” of this beach are three giant rocks that separated from the hill very long time ago.

And the texture of the rocks looks almost artificial!

Beritnica is a true wonder and everything about it is unique, unexpected. The trail is an easy hike of some 20 minutes filled with surprises and there is much more of the coast ahead. Looks quite interesting for a boat trip although I think sea kayak is the best way to explore this coast .

And there are all sorts of fossils in these rocks. On a beach opposite Beretnica, an ancient crocodile tooth has been found and Crnike beach is also known for finds of carbonated ancient wood from Miocene period (23 mil – 5 mil years ago). The fossils of a lake snail Valvata indicate that this was part of a lake in the distant past. Even the remains of Sequoia trees have been confirmed to have been growing around this ancient lake (read more here – in Croatian)

Full of mysteries and unique places, a trip to Pag is always a marvelous discovery.