Dalmatia and Lika
Kingdom of Natural Wonders Croatia
Croatia, especially Dalmatia and Lika, definitely are our favourite holiday destinations when it comes to travel by car because there you can find everything your heart desires – wonderful nature, sun, mountains, waterfalls, beaches, interesting tourist attractions, etc.
In addition, this is a very safe country for travellers with a developed infrastructure, where the care of tourists is not only described in travel booklets but really exists in real life. Of course, it’s not a cheap country, but for your money, you can get what you’ve been expecting. The Croatian National Tourist Board has a very good website to explore many options for travelling around Croatia, including Dalmatia and Lika.
Here are just a few episodes where our destination has been Dalmatia and Lika; the various places and attractions in the region we have visited many times (here is more about Dalmatia in my blog). I would say that, in essence, Croatia is made up of several very different parts.
The first is the Croatian capital Zagreb and the region around it, the second is the northern part around the Istrian peninsula and the third is Dalmatia and Lika (although the latter two are different regions and differ from each other). In addition, Croatia also has many islands in the Adriatic Sea and narrow strips of land along the Adriatic Sea from the middle to the south of the country. The differences are so huge that if you have visited one of these regions, then you probably have no idea about the other places.
Krka waterfall cascades
Krka National Park is one of several national parks in Croatia. Its name comes from the river flowing through it; the nearest town is Sibenik. There are many tourist attractions in the surrounding area, such as the UNESCO-listed St. Jacob’s Cathedral in Sibenik and the Kornati Archipelago National Park, which consists of 150 islands, islets and reefs. If you do not plan to stop at this national park, it is worth just looking at it when passing by; the landscape overlooking the Adriatic Sea with small islands is incredible.
Krka National Park was established for scientific, cultural, educational, recreational and tourism purposes. One of the most interesting objects in the park is Skradinski buk. Skradinski buk is a relatively large water reservoir with waterfall cascades – there are a total of 17 waterfalls. It is mentioned in Wikipedia that Skradinski buk could be one of the most beautiful limestone waterfalls in Europe and after visiting you could agree with that.
Walking through the park and listening to the sound of falling and flowing water creates a special feeling. Visitors are taken to the waterfalls by bus from the large car park; walking to the site can take quite a lot of time and effort, especially if you do not plan to spend most of the day at this place.
Plitvice lakes
One of the most famous places in Croatia is Plitvice Lakes. They are located in the Lika region, on the route from Zagreb to Dubrovnik.
Plitvice Lakes is the first and largest national park in created in Croatia, established in 1949. Plitvice Lakes National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The park has many waterfalls, caves and 16 lakes in total. The difference in altitude ranges from 1279 metres to 367 metres above sea level; the lakes are located on two levels – upper and lower.
The upper lakes are larger and deeper, and tourists are guided by boats; boat trips are included in the price of the visit. The lower lakes are much smaller and shallow, but as you walk along the footbridges, you can watch the many fish that inhabit them. You can spend the whole day at the Plitvice Lakes site; the minimum would be spending at least half a day there so that the adventure will be memorable for a long time.