The road from Pitve to Zavala is an epic adventure

Located on the island of Hvar, in the district of Jelsa, in Croatia, the road from Pitve to Zavala is an epic adventure.

Pitve-Zavala road

The road is totally unpaved and runs north-south from the town of Pitve in the center of the island to Zavala and other settlements on the south side of the island. It’s a fire road over the top of the hill, suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles rather than normal cars.
The road is 6.9 km (4.28 miles) long. It’s very steep in parts and tops out at 440m (1,443ft) above the sea level. The drive offers stunning views: during your stay on the island of Hvar be sure to drive through this road. The road has steep drop offs. To drive the road without stopping will take most people between 25 and 45 minutes.

The road was bypassed by Tunel Pitve in the early sixties. The tunnel was sharply carved by the army in 1962 to carry water. But it was never used and was converted to a road tunnel. It opened to traffic on November 24, 1963.