Sunday 6th November 2022
We were lucky to wake to beautiful sun shine this morning. We have been so lucky. Only two days of rain since our arrival in Croatia. So today we will go in to the Krka National Park (entry fee 50 kuna each, boat ride 100 kuna each).

“Krka National Park lies about 10km inland from Sibenik in this part of Dalmatia. Named after the Krka River, the Park covers an area of just over 142 square km and includes two-thirds of the river itself. The top attraction of the Park is its magnificent waterfalls, including the famous Skradinski Buk falls which are one of Croatia’s most famous sights. Other highlights include the small island of Visovac and Roski Slap waterfall. A boat trip through the park is a great way of seeing much of the Park.”

We arrive at the park about 9.30am and walk down about 1km to the waterfalls. The falls cover a very wide area and they are running in all directions, very wide and a continuous flow of water. There are many spectacular falls in this section called Skradinski Buk and we are joined by many other tourists as we walk the 2km boardwalk loop in an anti-clockwise direction. Apparently in the summer it is so crowded it is like Indian File around the loop. There is many vantage points for photography but unfortunately this morning the sun was in the wrong spot for many of the photos. Also it was difficult to get a photo without another few people in it.  Oh well, we did our best. We enjoyed the walk and then found a quiet place in the sun for lunch as we booked the boat ride to Visovac Island with tour of the Franciscan Monastery for 1pm.

“The Skradinski Buk waterfalls are a collection of 17 waterfalls that range in height by over 45 metres. It used to be possible to swim by these waterfalls – a truly wonderful experience – but since 2021 this has been forbidden in order to preserve the waters of the park.”

The boat ride was a 9km ride up the Krka River to Visovac, we were expecting the tour groups to be on the cruise but lucky for us there was only 3 other people. They changed us on to a smaller boat with only outside seats. On the way to the island we were heading into the wind and it was absolutely freezing. After putting on our rain jackets for warmth, I also put on my puffer jacket. That made me quite toasty, so I could enjoy the scenery. It was quite pretty but sometimes our spectacular hikes put a dampener on others. Anyway, it was still a lovely view. The island was beautiful and showcased lovely autumn colours. We were greeted on the island by a tour guide from the National Park who gave us some history about the monks, the buildings and the museum. Following this little history lesson we visited the museum, went inside the church, then quickly walked through the grounds. Unfortunately the tour only allowed 30mins on the island. we headed back in the boat, arriving back about 3pm.

“The island of Visovac is located upstream from Skradinski Buk, in the very middle of Visovac Lake in the very heart of Krka National Park. The island features a 15th-century Franciscan monastery and Church wherein the perfect tranquillity one can look at the valuable library of books and manuscripts enjoying the perfect peace and quiet. The collection also features a small selection of seventeenth-century paintings.”

We then hiked back up to the car and drove to the middle section of the park to the Roški Slap. This was a lovely section that had lots of little waterfalls meandering through a little village type area. After walking around we headed up to the lookout which was up a rocky cliff about 60-70m in elevation. It was quite steep but provided a lovely view of the steps of the waterfall below. We then did a loop walk and headed back to thecae. The light was fading which provided a lovely backdrop for photos and a peaceful walk due to people having left for the day.

“Roski Slap (slap being Croatian for waterfall) is another famous sight within Krka National Park. A series of 12 waterfalls in a space of 450 metres, the largest is just over 22 metres in height and 60 metres in width.”

We then drove home to our little apartment at Skradinski. Another full day. Tomorrow we move on to Plitvice National Park.