Abitanti from Gračišče

Biking in Slovenia » Slovene Istria » Abitanti from Gračišče

Abitanti is a tiny Istrian hamlet that’s not just in the middle of nowhere. It’s way beyond that. Wikipedia claims it had 12 permanent residents in 2002; other sources claim the last granny living there died in 2002. Whatever the truth might be, life is returning to Abitanti. After a colorful ride across Istrian pine forests and meadows, I found a group of renovated houses and locals fixing even more of them.

At a Glance

Difficulty: Asphalt roads with a bit of well-maintained gravel road
Altitude: 480 m
Average time: 3 h
Elevation gain: 470 m
Distance: 27 km
Coordinates: Start: 45.502597,13.876419

Starting point Hiking map

Interactive route Download GPX file

Getting There and Back

If you want to hike to Abitanti, start in Gradin (machine translation of Slovenian description). Gradin is also an excellent starting point for a family biking trip (it’s ~6 km from Gradin to Abitanti and back). I decided to start in Gračišče and tried to stay on asphalt roads. If you prefer dirt tracks, explore the Path of Truffles and Asparagus, which is also nicely marked on OpenCycleMap.

Park in Gračišče. I usually use the parking lot behind the school (starting point); there’s another one close to the gas station.
Return to the main road, and follow the signs for Sočerga. At the end of the village, turn right toward Brezovica pri Gradinu.
After ~5.5 km, follow the signs for Gradin/Abitanti onto a narrower road.
In the next village, turn left (toward Gradin).
In Gradin, follow the signs for Abitanti (the road from Gradin to Abitanti is partially a gravel road).

You could take a dirt trail (K7) into the valley beneath Abitanti to get back to Gračišče; I decided to return to Gradin and visit Sočerga:

Return to Gradin.
In Gradin, turn right (no sign) toward Brezovica pri Gradinu.
In Brezovica pri Gradinu, follow the signs for Gračišče and later turn right toward Sočerga.
Follow the signs for Sočerga until you reach the main road toward Buzet. Turn left (back to Gračišče).
I hate biking on main roads, but I couldn’t find a better alternative. Fortunately, a side road is veering right approximately a kilometer after Lukini. Take it – it will bring you to the road from Gračišče to Movraž. Turn left, and you’ll be in Gračišče in no time.