Klek
Above Ogulin, situated at 323 meters above sea level, rises the magnificent and imposing Klek Mountain – the northeastern ridge of the Velika Kapela, standing 1,182 meters high. Klek is well-known among hikers, climbers, botanists, travelers, and nature enthusiasts. On clear days, its unique shape can even be seen from Zagreb, and from its summit, the view extends to the surrounding area up to a hundred kilometers away.
Its 200-meter-high vertical rock is considered the cradle of Croatian mountaineering and alpinism, as the idea of founding the first mountaineering society originated in Ogulin in 1874.
The earliest recorded ascent of Klek dates back to 1838, when Josip Jelačić, accompanied by the Saxon king Friedrich Augustus II., a well-known amateur botanist, climbed the mountain.
Klek is also a botanical reserve with a rich deposit of tertiary flora that has been largely preserved, including: Kitajbel’s buttercup, hairy cinquefoil, Malijev’s devesia, Croatian birch, heart-leaved saxifrage, Clusius’ saxifrage, alpine woundwort, red goldenrod, Carniolan lily, alpine rock-jasmine, and more. Around thirty species of orchids (mountain orchids) have been discovered here. Many protected animal species also inhabit the area, such as wolves, bears, lynxes, western capercaillie, and wild cats.