Učka Poklon Road

The old hairpin road over the Učka massif via Poklon pass, the mountain wall separating Istria from the Kvarner coast, bypassed by the A8 tunnel.

Before the A8 bored its tunnel under Učka, every car crossing from the Opatija Riviera into Istria climbed this road over the Poklon pass at 922 m. It still carries ref Ž5047, and with the through-traffic gone it has become a quiet driver’s and cyclist’s favourite. From above Veprinac the road switchbacks up the steep eastern face with the Kvarner Gulf and its islands falling away behind, crests at the Poklon visitor centre saddle, then runs along the wooded spine toward the village of Vela Učka. A short spur, the Cesta za Vojak, continues to the 1,401 m summit tower for one of the broadest panoramas in the northern Adriatic, taking in the Alps and Velebit on a clear day. The surface is sound but narrow with low parapets in places. Mind the tight unguarded hairpins on the coastal climb, frequent cyclists, and fog or bura wind gusts near the pass.