Krka National Park - Croatia

After waving goodbye to Kelly and Lloyd in Dubrovnik we drove 27 km north where we stopped at Slano, a small village known for olive, herb, fruit and tobacco growing. We stopped along the way at the Bacina Lakes just outside Dubrovnik and arrived fairly late in the evening so didn't get to see much along the way. The only thing we saw when we drove into the village was a man sat in the middle of the road on a chair. Fishing down a drain. At that point we decided we'd stay one night, no more! The following morning we packed up and left for our next stop Stobrec. 7 km outside Split and the first campsite we stayed on when we arrived in Croatia almost a month ago. We stayed in Stobrec for one night before heading the Krka National Park the following day.

 

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

 

We travelled 92 km north west to Krka National Park just outside Šibenik where the River Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. The park was announced as Croatia's seventh national park in 1985 and was formed mainly to protect the river. It is now used to host an array of scientific, cultural, recreational and tourism activities. The park boasts 109 square kilometres along the River Krka which is 72.5 km long making it the 22nd longest river in Croatia. We parked the camper (for free) and paid 110 kn each for admission (unless you take the bus you probably wouldn't need a ticket as nobody checked ours). We took a bus 1 km down to the entrance to the Skradinski Buk the longest and most famous waterfall on the River Krka, also considered one of the most beautiful calcium carbonate waterfalls in Europe.

River Krka

River Krka

River Krka

Skradinski Buk

Skradinski Buk

We followed the 2.5 km walking trail around the waterfalls, following winding wooden slatted pathways weaving back and forth around the river. Oscar had his nose to the ground the whole time and was in and out of the shallow water when he could find it. The recent heavy rainfall has obviously increased the depth of the river as in some areas it was spilling over onto paths and walkways.



Krka National Park



Whilst wandering around in full tourist form, backpack and camera included we read about the different inhabitants of the park including the European pond turtle and the Hermanns tortoise. There are various species of snake such as Grass snake, Dice snake, Balkan Whip snake and the Four Lined snake as well as several species of lizard including the Dalmatian wall lizard and the Balkan green lizard. There are also twenty species of fish, eight species of amphibians and forty six species of mammals residing in the park.



One of the many wild flowers growing in the park



Birds on the River Krka

Heavy rainfall has caused water levels to rise dramatically



Krka National Park



Krka National Park

The waterfalls were amazing and unlike anything either of us had ever seen. There were small collections of waterfalls cascading through what looked like hillsides and there were grand waterfalls causing complex water systems that had pulled down trees. We walked across a large wooden bridge where we were sprayed with ice cold water from the waterfalls. Probably the most beautiful place we have visited to date. We spent the majority of the day at the park before heading back to the camper and setting off for our next stop 122 km north east.




Krka National Park

The spray created a rainbow over the waterfalls



The church of Saint Nicholas made from deposited calcium carbonate

Enjoying the sunshine at the national park