It is sometimes referred to as Bijakova, especially among inhabitants of the eastern side of the mountain. Its highest peak is Sveti Jure (Saint George), at 1762 m.a.s.l.[1] It shows a typical karst landscape. Atop the peak there is a powerful FM and DVB-T transmitter.
The 196 km2 of its area is protected as a nature park with over 1,500 plant and animal species, some of which are endemic.[2]
Biokovo also includes the separate ridge and peak Sveti Ilija (Saint Elijah) at 1,642 m or 5,387 ft.[3]
Biokovo is one in a line of Dinaric Alps stretching along the Dalmatian coast - northwest of it is Mosor and southeast are Sutvid and Rilić. To the east, the Šibenik runs in parallel. When the weather is very clear, from the top of Biokovo it is possible to see Monte Gargano in Italy, which is 252 km (157 mi) away.[4]
Zabiokovlje, a mountainous area in Biokovo, includes such townlets and villages as Gornja Brela, Zadvarje, Žeževica, Grabovac, Rastovac, Zagvozd, Župa, Rašćane and Kozica. Major economic activities there were cattle raising, grape growing, and hunting. Part of this area is in the Biokovo Nature Park. To aid hikers, the Biokovo Nature Park Visitor Center is in downtown Makarska.
However, Biokovo can be perilous if hiking unprepared - tourists erroneously imagine peaks to be closer than they are and, oblivious to the danger, have been known to go hiking wearing flip-flops, without water, wearing shirts with military camouflage patterns making them harder to spot for search and rescue teams. From 1976 to 2007, 24 hikers have died on Biokovo, while 37 had to be rescued.[5]
Sveti Jure has recently found itself included as a climb in professional road bicycle races. It was visited for the first time on the second stage of the 2017 Tour of Croatia. However, due to bad weather the race organisers decided to shorten the stage in accordance with the UCI Extreme weather protocol. The final route was shortened by 15,2 km, moving the finish line down to Vrata Biokova on an altitude of 820 meters.[12]
The climb was revisited at the 2018 Tour of Croatia,
where it was included as a 28 km long climb serving as summit finish on the third stage, which was dubbed as the queen stage of that year's edition. The stage was won by Belarusian rider Kanstantsin Siutsou riding for Team Bahrain-Merida, after 75 minutes of climbing.[14][15]
