Split Zipline

"Standing on the first platform above the Cetina River canyon, the limestone glare in the July heat made the drop look far longer than it was. The split zipline runs eight cables and the last one across the gorge is the one everyone talks about once they are back on solid ground. Guides clipped us in twice and checked the braking glove every single time."

"The wind funnels through the canyon and you hear the river well before you can see it. Our guide from the Omis zipline crew pointed out the stone roofs of Zadvarje on the ridge while we waited on the platform. My hands smelled of leather and pine sap for the rest of the afternoon."

"Harness, helmet and gloves were all in good condition and the safety talk covered braking properly before anyone left the ground. I booked split zipline tickets a few days ahead and the pickup point near the old town was easy to find. The highest cable sits far enough above the canyon floor that the trees down there look like patches of moss."

"The karst walls turn a warm orange in the late light and the Cetina looks almost jade green from up on the cable. Guides carried a camera and photographed each rider on the long line without holding up the group. My advice is to have the harness pulled snug before you step onto the first platform."

"Driving inland from the coast the landscape changes fast, from pine and vineyards to bare white stone. This split zipline sits deep in the Dalmatian Zagora and on a clear afternoon you can see the whole ridge of Mosor. Two of the cables run tandem so my sister and I went side by side and argued afterwards about who was faster."

"Eight cables in total, each longer than the last, finishing with the wide crossing over the gorge. Our guide grew up in Zadvarje and told us about the Gubavica waterfall downstream while we walked between platforms. Bring proper shoes because the connecting paths are loose limestone and dust."

"Booking one of the split zipline tours from the harbour meant we did not have to work out the winding road up to the canyon ourselves. Autumn air was cool on the platforms and the gorge was quiet apart from the water moving somewhere underneath. Staff switched between German and English and repeated the braking instruction until everyone in the group had it."

"You clip in facing the drop and the guide gives a small push, then the sound of the pulley takes over everything else. Our zipline Cetina kanjon guide let the nervous riders go tandem with him on the first cable, which settled the whole group down. The stone underfoot still held the day's heat long after the sun dropped behind the ridge."

"The final crossing is the widest and you get a long look down at the water while you are still moving. A skip-the-line zipline booking meant we joined a group already gearing up instead of standing around at the hut. Dry Dalmatian heat, cicadas in every bush, and shade only where the platforms are."

"August in the hinterland is bone dry and the stone throws the heat back at you, so we drank most of our water between platforms. The split zipline tour crew kept an easy pace and called out every carabiner check out loud. From the higher platforms the view runs from the canyon all the way out toward the Adriatic."