Croatia’s Krka National Park

Lush rushing turquoise water culminating into magnificent falls! You cannot miss a trip to Krka National Park [Trg Ivana Pavla II. br. 5, Sibenik 22001] during your visit to Croatia. If you are staying in Split as we did, it is a bit of a journey to get to the park via public transportation. However, you do get the feel of the cities and small towns of the country inland, and on our way back we were dazzled by beautiful sunset scenes.

Anyhow, we took the bus from Split to Sibenik and when we got out to transfer we found out the next bus wouldn’t be in for quite some time. Valuing our time as the greatest commodity, we popped into a cab for a 20 minute ride to the park. We got there and everything was peaches and cream. We got in for the student rate, 80 Kuna or $11, the sights were well worth the price of admission. There is a bus that will take you down to the boardwalk but we preferred to hike it after our own long bus ride. A short and direct rocky path which was easy to follow took us to where we needed to be. Here is where began to see the wondrous beauty that would captivate us for the following hours. A tunnel view of the Krka River valley warranted a moment’s glance.

Huge pink flowers were impossible to pass by without a sniff, feed the senses.

Soon enough we found ourselves in the hubbub of the tourist throngs. I am the type who loves nature study, I will swoon at every animal and flower I see…but in between these observations I have the strongest urge to hike swiftly. Crowds are generally my worst nightmare in nature, where I love to move at my own pace and be in solitude. The crowds are inescapable at this park so I had to accept this and change my pace. Slowing down here wasn’t the worst thing because it allowed me to pick up all of the details I might have missed like a little green lizard,

A dragonfly as blue as the water,

Or gossiping fish collecting in a calm pool.

The main trail is a boardwalk that is straightforward and easy as pie. It takes you around the river where all of the water seems like it is in a hurry to get somewhere, falling this way or that.

The trails aren’t as long as I would have imagined, but they pack a lot of punch. Before I knew it we were leaving the boardwalks behind and walking on solid land again. Here we had the chance to actually get into the water beneath the falls!

Naturally this roped off scene was packed, but golly did it feel good to cool down in these waters on a hot summers day. Great to have water shoes here, as it is a bit rocky and slippery. We stretched out a towel for a short while on the grass in the sun. Time was flying, and the sky was beginning to darken with storm clouds. We packed up our bags and headed to hop on the boat to Skradin (free with admission, so make sure you take advantage of this!). We waited a short time and hopped on the little boat to float down that beautifully soul wrenching deep green water. I loved the sights here, and bumping in to our friend Talia we met in town days before, small country!

Just as we pulled into town the storm was lighting up the sky behind us.

Lightening storms seemed to brew slowly, but occur nightly during our time in Croatia. We scurried off our boat and made it into a perfect restaurant retreat just in time to avoid getting soaked. Luck was on our side. The last boat and bus back to town were long gone after our time in Skradin, but dinner was worth it. After our gypsy taxi back to Sibenik we reveled in reflecting on the glorious day during the long ride home while that aforementioned sunset lulled us into peaceful relaxation.