World's longest continuous zip line draws tourists to Lika, Croatia

Now open for its third busy summer season, the Pazi Medo (Beware of the Bear) zip line draws up to 5000 people each year for a thrilling ride over forests, hills and a picturesque valley in the Adriatic hinterland.

Lika, one of Croatia's least developed regions, is best known for its UNESCO-listed Plitvice Lakes national park and for being the birthplace of the inventor Nikola Tesla.

But a group of adrenaline junkies have sought to boost tourism in the area, often bypassed by visitors travelling to the Adriatic coast, by building what they say is the longest continuous zip line in Europe.

Now open for its third busy summer season, the Pazi Medo (Beware of the Bear) zip line draws up to 5000 people each year for a thrilling ride over forests, hills and a picturesque valley in the Adriatic hinterland.

The zip line's fastest speed recorded was 120 kilometres per hour.

"Our zip line is 1700-metre long which makes it the longest in Europe. There are faster ones, but not with such length," said Lana Ivanisevic, who looks after sales at the rural site in Rudopolje, some 35 kilometres away from the Plitvice Lakes.

She said the zip line's fastest speed recorded was 120 kilometres per hour, and tourists from Europe, Asia, North America have come to try out the 280 kuna ($61) ride.

"We see our project as a driver of tourism in Lika. Our plan...is to build the longest zip line in the world with a length of 3000 metres and combine this with other activities like cycling and kayaking," Ivanisevic said.

Lika, one of Croatia's least developed regions, is best known for its UNESCO-listed Plitvice Lakes national park.

Other zip lines in Europe include a mile-long ride in north Wales where thrill seekers can reach speeds of more than 160 km per hour. A zip line park in the Dolomite mountains offers a 3.2 kilometre ride divided into sections.

Ivanisevic said that out of some 12,000 runs, there had been just one "minor incident" recently in which two people were "lightly injured due to a communication error between operators", adding safety was a priority.

Reuters

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