Beli | The Kvarner Gulf

North of Cres Town, the island narrows into a long, high ridge, descending steeply towards the sea on either side. The road dives from one side of the ridge to the other, swapping views of the Istrian peninsula to the west and the mainland from Rijeka to Velebit to the east. Thirteen kilometres north of Cres Town a minor road forks right off the main road, passing through half-deserted hamlets and oak and chestnut forests en route to the village of BELL Huddled atop a knobbly hill high above the channel dividing Cres from Krk, Beli is an impressive agglomeration of ancient stone houses, many of them now left uninhabited as locals move away in search of work. It's gloriously rustic and peaceful, and there's a small shingle cove below the village at the end of a steep road. Beli is also home to the Caput Insulae Ecology Centre (Eko-centar Caput Insulae), established in the mid-1980s to monitor and protect the community of griffon vultures indigenous to Cres. Located at the end of a stony road to the left as you enter the village, the centre has an exhibition on the vultures, with photographs and English-language text, and a small aviary in the back garden where sick vultures are often kept before being returned to the wild.They can also provide directions for the centre's ecology path (eko-staza), a hiking route which starts here and leads through the forest on a seven-kilometre circuit, passing through a mixed area of pasture, forest, abandoned villages and gradine (the small, walled-off areas of cultivable land typical to Croatia's limestone areas) on the way.The vultures themselves regularly scour the sparsely inhabited northern extremities of Cres in search of food - there's quite a good chance of spotting one, but don't count on it.

There are only two buses a week from Cres to Beli, and the much more regular Cres-Porozina-Rijeka buses only pass within 7km of the village.A tourist information point opens up in season and allocates rooms - at other times enquire at the tourist office in Cres Town. There's a campsite, the Brajdi, below the village near the beach, where there's also a small grill-restaurant. Back in the village, the Gostionica Beli, a cosy place decorated with agricultural implements, has a wider range of fish and meat dishes - including local roast lamb - and is also a good place for a drink.

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