ANNOUNCEMENT: ZRMANJA ADVENTURES FESTIVAL 2025

Dear Friends,

On the occasion of this year’s seventh Zrmanja Adventures Festival, we would like to invite everyone to attend. Our long-standing love and care for the Zrmanja region have become the main focus of our work. We are dedicated to actively educating people about preserving the river’s uninterrupted flow, organizing seasonal clean-up actions to protect local flora and fauna, and maintaining the unique ecosystem that characterizes the Zrmanja River.

The festival will take place on the following dates:

• May 3, 2025 – 1st exhibition rafting regatta “Zrmanja 2025” (Kaštel Žegarski – Muškovci)
• August 4, 2025 – 1st exhibition kayak cup “Poskok 2025” (Maslenica – Obrovac Bridge)
• August 15, 2025 – Exhibition SUP race on the track of Mali Princ (Janković Buk – Obrovac)

The festival will feature both new and traditional activities, such as the exhibition rafting regatta, which laid the foundations for active tourism in the Obrovac region and clearly defined its development direction.

The return of the rafting regatta, kayak cup, and SUP race in an exhibition rather than an amateur-competitive format aims to raise awareness about protecting the Zrmanja River and its tributaries. This includes the entire Lika, South Velebit, and Bukovica karst regions, as well as emphasizing the responsibility of all social stakeholders (state institutions, regional and local governments, public nature protection agencies, businesses operating on the Zrmanja River, local landowners, tourists, excursionists, etc.).

As we have seen, the consequences of climate change have left severe scars on the canyon area (such as the major flood in 2023 that affected Veliki Buk and other locations). Given the global meteorological trends, we are likely facing even more challenging times ahead. Therefore, raising awareness and taking protective action at all levels is our last and only chance.

Through this organizational approach, we wish to open up this discussion and insist on finding solutions—ultimately, to protect the common good and preserve the natural heritage of our homeland.

The program of the Zrmanja Adventures Festival outlined above will include a field education session, during which the extent of damage and devastation at critical points along the Zrmanja River canyon will be presented:

• May 3, 2025 – 1st exhibition rafting regatta “Zrmanja 2025” (Kaštel Žegarski – Muškovci)

  • The presentation will take place at Veliki Buk, where the most significant damage has occurred (a landslide of approximately 1,000 tons of travertine).

• August 4, 2025 – 1st exhibition kayak cup “Poskok 2025” (Maslenica – Obrovac Bridge)

  • The presentation will take place in the wider sector of St. Nicholas Chapel at two compromised locations (oil spillages into the Zrmanja River).

• August 15, 2025 – Exhibition SUP race on the track of Mali Princ (Janković Buk – Obrovac)

  • The presentation will take place at Janković Buk, where significant travertine damage has been observed.

The presentations will be led by an expert team from the Ruđer Bošković Institute and the University of Zadar – Center for Geospatial Analysis.

Festival Organizers:

RAFTREK TRAVEL

RIVA RAFTING CENTAR