Croatia · Paklenica
Water Song
Classic Paklenica water-groove climbing on beautifully sculpted rock. The crux is a rising crack traverse on P5, with delicate slab moves above.
6a+6 pitches160 m
Read the cautions
Karamara Sweet Temptations
Veliki Ćuk – west face (Zumbul sector) · Paklenica · Croatia
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: medium
A five-minute approach from the gorge café. There is a polished boulder-problem start, then wandering grooves and an airy traverse on the 6a+ third pitch.
- Hardest pitch
- 6a+
- Pitches
- 4
- Length
- 110 m
- Approach
- 5 min
- Aspect
- W
- West-facing
- Rope
- 1×70 m
Read before you go
Bolted throughout, but with some old bolts, spacing that one source suggests backing up with cams, a polished ground-fall start and an exposed easy last pitch.
The route
Overview
A four-pitch route on the west face of Veliki Ćuk, five minutes from the path in the Paklenica gorge. The first pitch is a long 6a with a polished bouldery start and is often climbed on its own as a single-pitch route; above it the rock is clean, sharp and grooved. The third pitch is the best: a technical airy traverse followed by a slab move. It is a good half-day route or a warm-up for the area, but the bolting is typical Paklenica (wider than a sport crag, with some older bolts), and the easy last pitch is described as exposed.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
6a4c6a+5a
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a | 30 m | Polished, greasy boulder-problem start on a few holds (a spot is welcome; it eases at a jug on the right before the second bolt). Then a crack and big holds, steep at first and then on grey grooved rock, on a long wandering line. Several parties call this first move the crux of the route. Bolts are old in places apart from the crux, which has been renewed. |
| P2 | 4c | 25 m | Short pitch straight up a steep grey slab/wall to the belay. |
| P3 | 6a+ | 35 m | A few metres straight up, then an airy technical traverse left under an overhang, then slightly right with a slab move at the exit. In 2018 loose rocks were reported at the belay. |
| P4 | 5a | 30 m | Straight up, then right to the top and the abseil rings. Easy but described as exposed or 'quite committing'. Mountain Project calls this the longest pitch, at 35 m. |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
Base is Starigrad-Paklenica on the coast road; bergsteigen.com describes the drive via the motorway towards Zadar, Maslenica exit, then the coast to Starigrad. In Starigrad turn inland to the Paklenica gorge, pass the national park entrance (paid entry) and drive to the last car park.
On foot · about 5 min
About 5 minutes. From the last car park follow the main path up the gorge, past the souvenir shop/café. camptocamp: level with a pillar leaning against the left wall, cross the stream bed to the right-hand wall. bergsteigen.com: go to the start of the steps, turn sharply right, cross the stream and walk a few metres to the base. Mountain Project places it across the river from the café, just north of the Karenin crag in the Zumbul area (sector A15). The route name is written on a plaque at the foot.
Finding the route · 1 photo
Walk-inLooking straight down from the route in August 2019: the main gorge path and the café terrace set into the rock on the far side. The base of the route is on the near side, under the trees, across the stream bed from the path.Photo: Lulu002 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Map of the walk-in
- Crag
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
44.30260, 15.47084
Parking marked on bergsteigen.com
Point from bergsteigen.com touren/klettern/kopie-water-song-veliki-cuk-paklenica (marker labelled approximate)
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Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 44.30607, 15.47354 (crag) · Parking: 44.30260, 15.47084
Getting down
Descent
Abseil the route. bergsteigen.com: two abseils with 2×60 m ropes, or four abseils with a single 60 m rope. Mountain Project: the first abseil needs a 70 m rope and the last one is long and only possibly feasible on a 60 m. A 2019 party that skipped R3 on the way down got their rope tangled on the ledge and had to reclimb pitch 2. Alternative: continue to the summit of Veliki Ćuk by the route Kanjonski and walk off down the cabled and scree descent (cables reported in good condition in 2015).
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Easy to bail
Yes. Abseiling the route is the normal descent, so you can go down from any belay. Use every station: a 2019 party that skipped R3 got its rope caught on the ledge and had to re-climb pitch 2. Sources disagree on rope length, so take a 70 m single or two ropes.
- Retreat from
- Any of the four belays. bergsteigen.com gives four abseils on a single 60 m rope or two on 2×60 m. Pitch 1 alone works as a 30 m single pitch.
- Point of no return
- None documented. Pitch 3 traverses left under an overhang, but the abseil from above it is part of the normal descent.
- Carry
- 1×70 m minimum according to Mountain Project (bergsteigen.com says 1×60 m works in four abseils), or 2×60 m. Nothing to leave behind is mentioned.
- Basis
- Part stated, part inferredMountain Project and bergsteigen.com state the abseil descent, the rope lengths and the stuck-rope report; that you can stop at any intermediate belay is inferred from the four-abseil description.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Hazards
- Heavily polished, greasy first 3–5 m, right off the ground; one report recommends a spot until the jug before the second bolt.
- Some bolts are old; only the crux has been re-equipped (Mountain Project, 2018). bergsteigen.com describes the bolt spacing as wide.
- Pitch 4 is easy but run-out ('facile mais assez engagée').
- Loose rocks reported at the pitch 3 belay (2018).
- Abseil lengths: a single 60 m rope means four abseils; the first abseil is given as needing 70 m by Mountain Project. Ropes can snag on the ledge if you skip a belay.
Sun and weather
Conditions
West-facing. The first pitch stays in shade into the afternoon. The start was damp as well as polished in August 2015. An August 2019 party climbed it from the car park and back between 11:15 and 13:00 in heat.
Usual season · Mar to Jun, Sep to Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · W-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January: not yet worked out
- February: not yet worked out
- March (usual season): not yet worked out
- April (usual season): not yet worked out
- May (usual season): not yet worked out
- June (usual season): not yet worked out
- July: not yet worked out
- August: not yet worked out
- September (usual season): not yet worked out
- October (usual season): not yet worked out
- November (usual season): not yet worked out
- December: not yet worked out
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 8 |
| Mean daily low °C | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| Sunshine hours a day | 6.1 | 7.6 | 9.3 | 10.6 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 6.4 | 5.6 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 262 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis (about 10 km grid): the wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
Gear
bergsteigen.com: 8 quickdraws, 2–3 slings, 2×60 m rope; it adds that the protection can be supplemented with cams. Mountain Project and camptocamp list bolts only. A 70 m single rope is the minimum Mountain Project gives for abseiling. Helmet.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- 8
- Rope
- 1×70 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Karamara Sweet Temptations.
Worth knowing
Tips
- Pitch 1 works as a 30 m single-pitch route if you only want a taster.
- For a longer day, link into Kanjonski to the summit and walk off; a 2015 party rated that combination highly but noted Kanjonski has bolts only at the hard moves and nothing elsewhere.
- Gospodari kiše (6a+, 4 pitches) starts alongside and is suggested as a companion route.
- Grades are described as friendly for the area.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- First ascensionists: Pezzolato and Tagliavini (camptocamp) against Pezzolato, Gojak and Dapiran (bergsteigen.com, which gives the same names for Water Song and may have copied them).
- Length: 110 m (plezanje.net, camptocamp), 109 m (Mountain Project), 120 m (bergsteigen.com).
- Abseils: bergsteigen.com says a single 60 m rope works in four abseils; Mountain Project says the first abseil needs 70 m. Followed the cautious figure.
- Longest pitch: P3 at 35 m on bergsteigen.com, P4 at 35 m on Mountain Project, P1 at 35 m on plezanje.net.
- Bolting: 'close for the area' (camptocamp trip report 2019) against 'wide spacing, cams useful' (bergsteigen.com 2024).
Provenance
Sources
- camptocamp – Karamara sweet temptationsUsed for: approach, pitch grades and descriptions, descent options, first ascent, trip reports 2015–2022
- Mountain Project – Karamara Sweet TemptationsUsed for: bolt age, loose rock, abseil rope length, shade
- bergsteigen.com – Karamara sweet temptationsUsed for: pitch lengths, gear, abseils, approach, access
- plezanje.net – Karamara sweet temptationsUsed for: pitch grades, length
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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.