Oh Croatia - You Are So Beautiful! (Part 2)
Krka National Park and Trogir
08.22.2019 - 08.29.2019
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Continuing with our adventures exploring Croatia's highlights...for the first part see Part 1
KRKA NATIONAL PARK
Krka National Park and the Krka River are touted as a "must do" to see and swim in the waterfalls, we certainly agree. We rented a car and headed out early and had a great day. If you're ever here, I can definitely recommend following our itinerary. I planned it to try to avoid the dreaded tour buses that descend daily on the main waterfall depositing up to 10,000 people in a single day. Initially I thought doing a Saturday was unwise but we later learned it's one of their slowest days as it's when, like in the States, the rentals turn over.
First Stop - Roški Slap
Toward the northern end of the park, the drive to this waterfall area through the Croatian mountains is spectacular.
When we arrived about 10 am, there were only about a dozen other cars. Just as we were leaving, the first of the tour boats pulled up! There are two areas to visit here and we felt like we had it to ourselves. The first area is a walkway that crosses the falls called "The Necklaces". The Krka River valley is a Karst formation that has built up travertine waterfalls over eons by the deposit of the limestone into the mosses and algae. The Necklaces are low travertine barriers that hold the water into pools as it runs over. Each barrier is a home for grasses and wildflowers and supports a complex ecosystem of fauna.
The second area is on Visovac Lake after the river goes through the funnel of the Roški Slap waterfall.
The water here was harnessed for a watermill and a small village grew up. The buildings have been restored and it's a great place to stop for a look around.
Second Stop - Visovac Viewpoint and Island
After crossing the river, we headed toward Stinice, a town so small it's just an un-named roundabout on Google Maps, and out to the viewpoint above Visovac Island. From there, you can travel down the twisty road to the bottom for a close-up view. On the island are the Franciscan Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy and the Church of Our Lady of Visovac that have stood since 1445.
Visovac Lake is really a place of peace and beauty. And again, we had it almost all to ourselves! The water is so clear throughout the park that you can see huge schools of fish hanging out everywhere.
By now it was about 1:30 and we wanted lunch before going on. We also wanted to give the main waterfall more time to clear out the tour buses. We found a beautiful hotel, literally in the middle of nowhere. Called Pension Skellin, it would be a wonderful hotel to get away from it all and a great base to explore the park from. We ate by the pool, enjoyed some local wine and beer and just relaxed for a couple of hours.
Last Stop - Stradinski Buk
Stradinski Buk has the makings to be a total tourism catastrophe. It's highly popularized, close to Split, and consists of a single wooden walkway through an area of river branches and waterfalls, one of which you can swim in. But we gotta hand it to the Croatian National Park for managing it perfectly. First, there is a huge, free parking lot you must use. Everyone that visits the site has to use the park buses to reach the actual falls and trail. Instantly, this limits the amount of people arriving at any one time to start the trail. Second, they limit the number of people that can visit in a day, albeit to 10,000. And finally, they are meticulous about maintaining it. It is really a beautiful place and, if timed right, can be truly enjoyed. Arriving about 3:00, there were huge lines for the buses back up and almost no one waiting to go down.
The first part of the path takes you through an amazing ecosystem of flowing water. You are surrounded on all sides by pools, lush vegetation, and swirling falls.
After awhile, you come to an overlook of the main falls where the swimming area is.
After going down quite a steep hill, and yes, you will have to go up it again later, you get to a small waterfall you can climb into...
...and then to the main swimming area.
It was a really unique and really enjoyable experience. One of the best day trips we've had in a long time.
TROGIR
On our way back to Split, we stopped off at Trogir, a small town whose original town is built completely on an island. It's tiny but really beautiful with an old fortress and tons of restaurants and shops. It was nice to be there in the evening as these towns can be really magical at night.
It's definitely worth a visit but I wouldn't go out of the way for it.
It was a whirlwind of tourism while we entertained Courtney on her visit to Croatia. It's always fun to have a visitor to get us out and seeing the sights.
On our last day with her, we decided to put on our "fancy pants" and pretend we were rich tourists. We headed to the Radisson Blu resort, just down the hill from us, and treated ourselves to a "fancy day".
I'm pretty sure Courtney had fun! Ha!
Stay tuned as we finish out our last few days before splitting Split and heading back to the States for a month. Yikes!
And be sure to follow us @arrradventures on Instagram for more frequent updates.
Posted by mrb430 01:06 Archived in Croatia Comments (0)