A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Trogir is a lovely spot on a small island half an hour from Split, filled with buildings from between the 13th and 15th centuries when it was part of the Venetian Empire. With limited car access it is an oasis of calm, other than the large tour groups passing through. It was pleasantly busy on a weekday in early June, but judging by the number of restaurants I can…
Klis Fortress aka City of Meereen (Game of Thrones)
Whether you are a Game of Thrones fan or not, you should definitely consider visiting Klis fortress if you are in Split. It is a historical place (2000 years old history) with some beautiful views over Split, and of course you get to boast you have been to the city of Meereen (GOT’s fans would understand the importance of Meereen). Also, it is not crowded. There were barely anyone when we visited, which was today, February 8, 2017. I think one of the reasons people have not discovered this place or do not want to visit this place is because getting there is a little challenging. We struggled quite a bit to get there and I hope I make it clear enough for you guys so that you can get there without any discomfort.
The Klis Fortress aka the city of Meereen
How to get to Klis fortress from Split by bus
After doing some research, I figured out we have to catch bus 22 from the Croatian National Theater also called HNK. I know you must be thinking why it is called HNK and not CNK..it is because Croatia’s name in Croatian is Hrvatska. Mystery solved.
Buss 22 schedule (Klis to Split). No bus 22 on weekends.
After going through other people’s blogs and the schedule I posted above, we decided to take the bus from Split at 11:45 AM. We reached there by 11:35. Saw the schedule posted and waited for the bus. It was 11:50 and there was no bus 22 though other buses kept coming and going. We waited another 10 minutes and no bus showed up. There was this small place next to the bus stop where there was a lady selling tickets. We asked her about bus 22 and she said the next bus is at 1:40 PM. We were really confused because on the schedule it said 1:00 PM (13:00 hours). We decided to go to the tourist center to get some guidebooks and get the bus schedule. So, I asked the lady in the center about bus 22 and she showed me the same schedule the one I posted above, but but but she told me that schedule is for the bus leaving Klis, and in order to figure out the schedule for bus 22 leaving Split HNK, just add 40 minutes, and there is no bus at 11:45 AM. So, the bus at 1:00 PM would leave Klis at 1:00 PM and reach Split at 1:40 PM. And then we got it, why that lady said the next bus would be at 1:40 PM. Once again, the schedule is for bus leaving Klis and add 40 minutes to it to figure out the timing for bus 22 for Split HNK. Honestly, I did not find this information anywhere on the internet. I mean people did talk about the schedule, even posted the same picture, but no one talked about that the schedule is from Klis to Split and not the other way around. You can find schedule for all the buses here. Just be careful with bus 22. Also, as you can see in the picture, there is no bus 22 on weekends. You can take bus 16 but it goes so late (leaves Klis at 8:20PM and 9:50 PM) that there is no point really taking that bus, but it is possible especially during summer. Alternatively, you can also take bus 35 or 36 and get off at the bus station by the Caffe Bar Oprah and walk up the fortress for 15 minutes.
We had an hour in our hand and we decided to grab lunch at Villa Spiza where we had shrimp pasta and lentil soup. Great food and pleasant staff.
Shrimp Pasta and Lentil soup at Villa Spiza
We left the restaurant around 1:10 PM and we were not sure if bus 22 would show up. Lol. We walked around there for sometime getting in one of the clothing stores. We even bought the roundtrip tickets from that lady for 22 kunas (Zone 2) It was 1:38 PM and a lot of different number buses kept on coming and we were getting skeptic and then all of a sudden we saw what we had been looking for past 2 hours..bus 22. We got on the bus right away, and it stopped at various stops in Split suburbs before making its way to the hill and the fortress is its last stop.
The Klis fortress is situated at a hill between the mountains of Mosor and Kozjak making it defensively very strong. No wonder it’s been of major strategic value in Croatia. Its origin dates back to the ancient Illyrain tribe Dalmatae and from there it became the seat of many Croatian rulers. The fortress had been taken over by different empires from the Romans to the Turks to the Venetians and the last one to have the military operations here were the Nazis during the WW2.
The view while going to the entrance of the fortress
We paid 40 Kunas/person to enter the fortress. This fortress is not like a palace or anything. There are no marked trails. We were just exploring on our own and trust me it was fun. You could see Split at the end with its beautiful red ceilings, and of course the beautiful Adriatic sea, which is only 11 Km/6.8 miles from the fortress.
There are two rooms, one is dedicated to show the fortress has been a part of the military strategy. It has various arms, armory, and traditional uniforms. It is nothing fancy though and we spent about 5 minutes here.
The other room has pictures from the Game of Thrones shooting and of course a dragon.
We just wandered around, took a lot of pictures, and was super happy to make it to the fortress. We had to catch the bus back to Split at 3:50 PM and we made it without any hassle.
Summary
Kliss fortress is a hidden gem. Not many people know about this place surprisingly, and if you want to go somewhere away from the people like we do, visit this place and this being the GOT shooting location just makes it even better.
How to get there: Bus 22 (only weekdays), 16, 35, 36. Bus 22 is the best option as it leaves right by the fortress.
You may have heard of the popular Plitvice Lakes National Park in central Croatia, but if you are visiting the Dalmatia region along the coast it can be quite the lengthy day trip to get there. The alternative? Visit Krka National Park, Croatia’s lesser known but no less beautiful gem of a park.
It’s an easy day trip from Split, only about an hour drive away (or maybe a bit longer if you take the…
