Multipitch Atlas

Pero

Anića kuk – Stup (south side) · Paklenica · Croatia

Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium

A short, sunny route up the 'elephant's trunk' of the Stup, the apron below Anića kuk, just right of Karabore and Walter Wolf. A slab leads to a steep crack, then cracks, thin hollow-sounding flakes and a last pitch up water grooves. Good for a first or last day, and easy to combine with a neighbouring line.

Looking down the last pitch of Pero on the Stup, Anića kuk, August 2016.Photo: Outlook · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo

Looking down the last pitch of Pero on the Stup, Anića kuk, August 2016.Photo: Outlook · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
6a
Pitches
4
Length
130 m
Approach
30 min
Aspect
S
South-facing
Rope
2×50 m
Read before you go

Bolted with bolted belays and no gear to place, but the bolts are ageing and the most detailed source contradicts itself on how closely they are spaced.

The route

Overview

Pero climbs the south side of the Stup, the pillar that leans against the foot of Anića kuk, and finishes on the flat shoulder where the abseil line starts. bergsteigen.com gives it five stars and four pitches of 6a, 6a, 5b and 6a; camptocamp and plezanje.net grade it a notch easier and count three pitches, because the last two are often run together. It is one of the better-bolted routes on the Stup and needs nothing but quickdraws. The rock is excellent but features thin flakes that sound hollow.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P16a30 mA slab leads to a steep crack, which you follow straight up to the belay. The first bolt is fairly high and the holds below it are not positive (camptocamp, which grades the pitch 5c+/6a).
P26a30 mStraight up from the belay along a crack, then slightly left up slabs. camptocamp gives 5c. In 2016 birds were nesting in a pocket beside the line.
P35b30 mRightwards across hollow flakes, then straight up to the belay.
P46a40 mUp and left on superb water grooves to the level shoulder and the abseil ring. camptocamp describes pitches 3 and 4 together as one 5b pitch that eases to grade 3 at the top.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Base yourself in Starigrad-Paklenica, on the coast road between Rijeka and Zadar. From Zagreb it is about 235 km by the A1 to the Maslenica exit, then 15 km along the coast. A signed road leaves the eastern end of the village for the national park. Buy a ticket at the entrance (climbers can buy 3-day and 5-day tickets), then drive on to the last car park at the end of the road.

On foot · about 30 min

From the last car park follow the paved path up the gorge. At a sharp left-hand bend after the second bridge, turn right at the 'Anića kuk' sign, cross the stream and walk up through open wood to the 'Stup' sign. Go right there, round the foot of the Stup and up the scree to the start, which is marked by a small plate. bergsteigen.com gives 20 to 30 min; the start is at about 355 m.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

44.30671, 15.47783

Parking

44.30372, 15.47109

Last car park in the Velika Paklenica gorge (bergsteigen.com map marker 'Ende der Straße')

Point from Mountain Project sector point for Stup (G17–20); the approximate bergsteigen.com start markers for routes on the Stup lie within about 70 m of it

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

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.

Getting down

Descent

From the ring at the top, make two abseils down the route 'Abseil pista' (4b). You land about 100 m from the start, across scree. Then walk back down the approach path. bergsteigen.com allows 45 min to the car park.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

Retreat down the route itself is not described: the normal descent is by the separate Abseil pista from the top. All belays are bolted and the pitches are 30 to 40 m, so abseiling from a belay on two 50 m ropes should work, but you may have to leave a maillon or carabiner.

Retreat from
Any bolted belay (inferred). bergsteigen.com says of the neighbouring Danaja that you can abseil either the Abseil pista or the route itself.
Point of no return
None documented.
Carry
Two 50 m ropes and a couple of maillons, as abseil rings on the intermediate belays are not confirmed.
Basis
Inferred from the route factsSources state bolted belays, pitch lengths and the Abseil pista descent only; abseiling the line itself is inferred.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • Hollow-sounding flakes, especially on pitch 3: climb them gently.
  • bergsteigen.com notes that the bolts look their age.
  • Linking pitches 3 and 4 uses a full 50 m of rope: a 2016 party only just made it and may have moved together for a moment.
  • The abseils do not land at the start. Take your shoes up, or you cross about 100 m of scree in rock shoes.
  • A bird's nest in a pocket beside pitch 2 was occupied in August 2016.

Sun and weather

Conditions

South facing and in the sun for most of the day: bergsteigen.com marks April to June, September and October. A party in August 2016 was glad of the pools in the stream on the way down.

Usual season · Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct

Sun on the wall · S-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C781216212528282318138
Mean daily low °C003712161818141062
Rain days 1 mm or more11101112118669111312

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 262 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

What to carry

Gear

12 quickdraws, 2 or 3 slings and two 50 m ropes (bergsteigen.com). No cams or nuts are listed. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
12
Rope
2×50 m
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

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 Pero.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • Combine it with Walter Wolf (6c) or Domžalski next door, as bergsteigen.com suggests.
  • A 2016 party took about 4 hours from putting on rock shoes to taking them off.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Pitch count and grades: bergsteigen.com gives four pitches (6a, 6a, 5b, 6a; 130 m); camptocamp gives three (5c+/6a, 5c, 5b) and plezanje.net three (5c, 5c, 5b), with the last two bergsteigen pitches run together. The bergsteigen breakdown is used here.
  • Length: 130 m on bergsteigen.com; 80 m on camptocamp and plezanje.net.
  • Bolt spacing: the bergsteigen.com protection note calls it unusually close for Paklenica, while its remarks field says the spacing is wide. The protection note is identical to the one on its Danaja page.
  • First ascent: Cergol and Čižmek (camptocamp) against Relja and Gorjup (bergsteigen.com).
  • Aspect: south on bergsteigen.com and in trip reports; camptocamp's data field says north.
  • Approach time: 30 min in the bergsteigen.com header, 20 min in its text.

Provenance

Sources

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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.