Having flown into Split and picked up the car, a short drive north brought us to the pretty riverside town of Skradin. From the highway rest stop we took photos of the bridge over the Krka river …
… and also caught our first view of Skradin …
… but were alarmed to feel the odd drop of rain … surely not!
At our apartment, we were welcomed with a glass of homemade Rakija, a fruit brandy made throughout Croatia. After toasting Živjeli! we were advised the best way to tackle Krka next day then went to explore.
We tried to ignore the rain drops as we wandered down the main street lined with pastel coloured buildings …
… but as we started climbing to the small medieval fortress above the town, it became downpour …
… and we had to shelter from the worst of it in a bar with a beer!
Next day dawned sunny and we were up and waiting for the 8.00 boat into Krka National Park so we could beat the crowds.
The tufa landscape is one of the most unique features of Krka National Park. Eroded limestone is deposited in the river and trapped by the plants to form tufa or travertine barriers. These are constantly reshaped by water flow to create spectacular waterfalls, cascades, and natural pools.
The main event is Skradinski Buk, the most impressive waterfall in the park. It is made of 17 waterfalls cascading into one another and then creating a beautiful lake and is viewed from a network of wooden trails and bridges. It certainly didn’t disappoint, and we all took lots of pictures.
Fortified, we followed the walking route at Roški slap, where the waterfall fans out in a series of shallow cascades, known locally as The Necklaces, before falling into Visovac lake below.
There were also ruins of old watermills which once lined the river and were used to grind corn …
… and viewpoints.
By the time we had walked the circuit and were returning to the start, we saw that the crowds had certainly increased and were pleased we’d made an early start. Behind the bridge you can see part of the first hydro electric plant in Europe, opened just after Tesla opened the world’s first one in Niagara Falls in 1895.
We returned to Skradin by boat then picked up the car and drove first to a couple of viewpoints, firstly to see the tiny island of Visovac which was settled by Franciscan monks in 1445 and then on to the Panorama restaurant where Chris spotted omelette on the menu and Joanna and I shared crispy polenta coated trout and salad.
The viewpoint is reached by climbing a huge staircase which zig zags up the cliff and can just be seen above.
We were all up for it, but I abandoned when I saw a shady bench while and Chris and Joanna continued. They made the top but admitted the photo of the falls was no better!
Some of the photos we had seen were more impressive than ours, but then conditions have to be perfect for perfect shots and we enjoyed walking round, watching the antics of the ducks.
On a high after conquering the steps, Joanna drove us back from Roški slap, the first time she had driven on the wrong side of the road. The first part was very twisty and narrow, but she learnt how to make full use of the mirrors and did a grand job, delivering us safely back to Skradin.
After all that exercise we were were done for the day, and enjoyed relaxing later with caipirinha cocktails watching the sun do down, followed by a dinner of Gorgonzola gnocchi for C, Skradin sprats for J and John Dory and capers for me. We finished with Skradin Torte, a cake made with eggs, honey and ground walnuts then glazed with chocolate … yum!
Krka has certainly been a success and I’m so pleased we chose to stay in Skradin so we could get into the park early – it made all the difference to enjoy it while it was quiet.
Next up … a ferry crossing …
Off Travelling Together 