Every time I visit I city, I look for the green spaces. Diocletian’s Palace and the rest of the center of Split is all stone, no green, so I found time to venture outside of the city to breath in the fresh air of the mountains and sea.

Located on the peninsula outside of Split’s Old Town Marjan Forest Park has been an oasis from the city ever since Roman Emperor Diocletian reserved this park space back in the 3rd century. At 3.5 km long and 1.5 km wide, it provides several hiking trails and scenic viewpoints.  In order to get a view, however, you have to be willing to climb. The hills in the Old Town give a quick introduction to the steps upon steps that are to come.  After about 300 steps, a cafe welcomes people to sit and take a breather while enjoying a drink and a lovely view of the city below.  

For those who want more, two trails branch off from this first viewpoint, a sloped concrete road that works well for bikers and more stairs.  The sloped path leads to St. Nicholas church dating back to 1219.

At this point, I headed inland to the stairs on a mission to reach the summit. At 178 meters above sea level, Telegrin peak offers 360 degree views of the area – from the cruise ships in the harbor to the football stadium to the north.  While most tourists stop their trek here, I was determined to hike the whole park – even if I wasn’t quite dressed for the excursion. 

The trails through the rest of the park are narrow, rocky, and wooded. Having fallen and hurt my hand and leg on the same type of terrain just a few days before, I was extra cautious with each step. It was nice to get away from the crowds of the city and immerse myself in the tranquil woods of Marjan park. The Girometta trail ended at the roadway where there was access to the observatory tower.  

Hoping for even more expansive views of the area, I hiked up the hill; however, because it was a windy and cold day, the tower stairs/elevator were not open to the public. Still the main deck offered nice views of a nearby island. 

I continued on Baba Marta’s path that also offered educational signs about the dry stone constructed structures, flora, and research of the park.  This path took me to the end of the park.

Here, I hoped to take the #12 bus back to the city; unfortunately, because of construction and it being off season, the bus was not running its full route. Thus, my trek back along the road started.  I got to see the beautiful sandy (this is rare for this area) beach from above, and just after that, I was able to catch the bus back to the city. It was a nice way to spend a few hours, but I wish I had been more prepared for the adventure – proper attire and some snacks. 

The following day I decided to use the public bus system to access Klis Fortress.  Situated overlooking the town of Klis, the Fortress provides clear views of the Mostor and Kozjak mountains as well as the city of Split . The #22 bus goes directly there, and my advice is to walk to one of its stops so that you don’t have to transfer buses and maybe miss the connection – yes, I’m speaking from experience here. Because the #22 bus doesn’t run that frequently, so I looked for other options, and found another bus (#35) that brought me within an 18 minute walk from the fortress. The walk from the bus to the fortress was easy, so if this is the only option for you, it’s not a big deal. 

My exploration of the nooks and crannies of the fortress was coupled with a few educational signs about the purpose of each space and how its architecture has changed from one century to the next. One of the armory buildings also housed more extensive information about the Uskoks people who made up the inhabitants of the fortress along with historic weaponry.  Another space held fragments of the original stone details of the fortress.

The Klis Fortress has been through many hands. Its history dates back to the 2nd century when the Illyian tribe chose this location for its views of all the communication paths in the area. Since then, the Croats, Venetians, and Austrians have used the fortress as a defensive stronghold. As the fortress has changed hands, the St. Vitus Church was turned into a mosque and then back into a church.

For those Game of Thrones fans, the Klis Fortress is the cities of Meereen and Daenerys in the show (season 4 & 5).  They have also turned some of the indoor spaces into an art gallery showcasing local artists, whose work is for sale.