Municipality of Podgora: Coast, Biokovo and Cultural Heritage
Accommodation in Municipality of Podgora
The Municipality of Podgora lies at the foot of the Biokovo Mountains and extends partly along the Makarska Coast. Beaches, mountain landscapes and historic sites offer different possible focuses for your trip. When looking for a holiday apartment, you can first consider whether you would like to include coastal scenery, experiences in Biokovo Nature Park or cultural and historical discoveries in your trip. Podgora is also an ideal starting point for day trips to nearby destinations because of its micro-location.
File:240524 Detail Seagull Sings Monument Podgora Croatia 1.jpg
Photo: Alexander Rumpel via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Beaches with different characters
The stretches of beach also offer different features. Pine trees provide shade at Plišivac Beach. The natural beach of Klokun lies between the bays of Čaklje and Drašnice. Garma is a pebble beach associated with naturism. In Živogošće, small pebble beaches extend over a total length of 6 km. When planning your days by the sea, you can use these features as a guide—for example, whether shade from pine trees, a natural beach, pebbles or the naturist aspect is important to you.
Biokovo on foot and on the rocks
Biokovo Nature Park extends across seven municipalities, including Podgora. It can be reached by car, minibus, motorcycle, bicycle or on foot. One specific hiking option is the Podgora/Srida sela – Vrutak – Staza – Podgogovik – Podgora trail. It is classified as easy, and an ascent time of 2.30 hours is indicated. This information can help you consider a hike as a separate item on your itinerary and distinguish the route from other activities during your trip.
Those interested in climbing will find the Drašnica climbing area above the village of Podgora, which is suitable for free climbing. The rock slabs require precision and stamina. Hiking and climbing therefore offer two different ways to engage with the Biokovo landscape: a marked hiking route on the one hand and a climbing area with specifically described challenges on the other.
History and sacred architecture
Above Gornja Podgora, the Galebova krila monument commemorates the Partisan Navy, which had been founded in Podgora 20 years earlier. The monument was erected in 1962. Also located above Podgora is Troje gomile, a prehistoric site with four burial mounds that also served as observation posts. These two sites relate to different historical themes: the memory of the navy and an older site with multiple functions.
Podgora’s buildings include the Baroque Church of Sv. Tekle, built in 1626 on Cape Sv. Tekle, and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The latter is a well-preserved religious building that combines Venetian Baroque with local influences. The Ijak Chapel-Lighthouse stands on Cape Ijak and formerly served as a lighthouse. The Church of Svih Svetih houses an altar containing relics of St Vincent, the patron saint of the municipality. A solemn Mass in his honour is held on the first Sunday after 15 August. The Roščića Tower was part of a defensive system built in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Other places in the municipality also have notable historical landmarks. In Igrane, Zalina kula is a protected cultural property dating from the 17th century; the Crkva sv. Mihovila is a protected cultural property dating from the 11th to 12th century. In Drašnice, the same applies to the Crkva sv. Stjepana, dating from the 17th to 18th century. In Živogošće, the Licinianus Epigram from the year 474 commemorates a very early inscription: it was carved into a rock above the spring at Pokrivenice. The Franciscan monastery there was founded in 1616 and was a centre of spiritual life and education, with an extensive library and valuable works of art.
For further orientation within the municipality, you can visit the individual pages for Drasnice, Podgora, Zivogosce, Igrane and Gornje Igrane.
For the broader travel overview: Split-Dalmatia.
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