fortress starigrad (fortica)

Wearing: ASOS Pretty Occasion playsuit with draped back | Bared vulture pink casual sneaker | Fjallraven Kanken Backpack in sky blue | Fossil original boyfriend chronograph watch in navy | Boohoo Eleanor stripey straw floppy hat***I'm pretty sure I did not expect what we ended up getting when we decided to hike up the mountain to Fortress Starigrad (Fortica). I thought this was just going to be a long gradual uphill walk but how I was wrong! Dressed completely inappropriately in leather shoes (my poor, poor shoes) and a flimsy playsuit, Tom and I climbed up rocks, walked through prickly bushes and slid up and down pebbled paths to make our way up some massive stony mountain in 30+ degree heat. I later turned around to look at at ground level and wondered why I even thought it would be a casual stroll..Nevertheless we made it, some 860m above Omis to take in the 360 degree view of the Cetina riviera and canyon, the coast and the little town below. It was truly spectacular and being at the peak of a mountain felt like being in a different world, watching the world below go by whilst being surrounded by mountains even higher than the one you are on.If you do decide to do the hike, there are two routes you can take. If you zoom in on Google Maps, both routes are marked. Going up, we took the route that started south of the Fortress, just off Put Borka. We started in the morning and this took about 1hr 15min for us and most of it was in the shade. Heading town, we took the western route that ended at Cetina river. This also took about an hour for us as the little rocks made it extremely slippery to get down, but it's a shorter route and if it's cooler weather and you've got the proper footwear, then the guy at the ticket booth at the fortress claimed it would take 20 min to get down!). Said guy also climbs up the mountain every morning in order to get to work at the Fortress! This route was mostly through a forest so it was extremely shady too. I'd definitely recommend going the direction we went for the shadiest, easiest hike!Photos: Thomas Debono & I