Drava route – EuroVelo 13 – west

“Drava route – EuroVelo 13 – west is a rather fitting description of this beautiful, 43km long, lowland path that will take you from the homely felds of Podravina and unforgettable places such as Križnica through the remains of the old Slavonian forests all the way to the Hungarian border-crossing in Terezino Polje. The river Drava will be with you the entire time, and you will hardly fnd a more refreshing companion.

Along the entire length of this dynamic route you will be riding on asphalt, with no signifcant climbs. The path starts off at the western entry point to the county, not far from Pitomača, an area which forms the Kajkavian-speaking, Podravina part of Virovitica-Podravina County. After passing the side streets of Pitomača, there follows a short, but lovely section where the route proceeds on a straight asphalt road lined on both sides by a forest.

You will soon get to a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Drava, which you should cross and keep following the road for the next 4.5 km, to the village of Križnica. Križnica is the favourite place of holiday makers, anglers and nature lovers. It is a protected landscape that includes a same-named settlement, surrounded by the arms of the river Drava on one side and the Croatian-Hungarian border on the other. Enjoy the local offer of fish specialties that have made the name of  this area famous far and wide, and you will have no trouble finding accommodation should you wish to spend some more time exploring this interesting place.

You will keep exploring along the route toward the village of Starogradački Marof and then to Okrugljača. In the vicinity of Okrugljača, on the bank of the river Drava is a lovely resort area. If you take a little detour to the macadam road on the left in the very centre of the village, you’ll arrive to the resort area after cycling further for about a mile.

The route continues through the village Bušetina toward the village of Turanovac. On this section, you will take a bridge to cross the river Ođenica, which in this part of its short course constitutes the border between the regions of Podravina and Slavonia. A few kilometres after Turanovac, the route joins the state road toward Hungary. For the last seven kilometres of our “By Drava” route, this state road will take you through the village of Kapela Dvor, where you can rest and freshen up. In the village, the elegant historicist manor Janković houses a Tourism and Education Centre. You can continue your ride through Gornje Bazje to Terezino Polje and the state border with Hungary. If you’d like to witness the place where Podravina embraces Slavonia, taste the dishes made from freshly caught Drava fish or merely wet your legs in the always-cool Drava, then be sure to set out through “Drava route – EuroVelo 13 – west”.