1. NATIONAL PARKS
IN CROATIA
EIGHT STUNNING
BEAUTIES
By Croatian HTUS – ZADAR ETWINNING TEAM
2. 1. RISNJAK
• National Park Risnjak is based in Crni Lug near Delnice has
6,400 hectares of forest areas. With over thirty specific plant
communities, a 4.2-kilometers long trail, a mountain lodge, a
restaurant and accommodation capacities, it represents a
special attraction and value of Kvarner and Gorski Kotar - a
wide, heavily forested, karst plateau rising to jagged peaks.
• The park’s varied climatic influences – the sea from the south-
west, the Dinaric mountains from the south-east, the continent
from the north-east and the Alps from the north-west – have
enabled over 4,000 plant species to prosper. Accompanying
these are over a hundred brown bears, lynx (ris in Croatian and
after which the park is named), wolves, wild cats, wild boar,
deer and chamois, as well as 500 species of butterfly.
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3. 2. BRIJUNI
Brijuni archipelago are attractive group of islands near Istria
Peninsula, with the main islands Veli Brijun that is Croatia
National Park and open to visitors. The fact that it was visited by
the elite of Austrian, Hungarian and German aristocracy when
Istria was part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy speaks of its
beauty and charm. In more recent history almost every major
statesman visited the islands as Brijuni were residence of late
President Tito of Yugoslavia.
The islands are rich in natural beauties, flora and fauna brought
here from various parts of the world. On Brijuni there is an
attractive archaeological site the Byzantine castrum and
luxurious Roman villa, Ethnographic collection, Collection of
frescoes, Archaeological Museum and Natural history exhibit.
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4. 3. PLITVICE LAKES
Plitvicka Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) is Croatia's well known
national park. Plitvice Lakes are also listed in UNESCO's
Register of World Natural Heritage. Plitvice Lakes is a group of
sixteen small lakes - Proscansko Jezero, Labudanovac Lake ,
Ciganovac Lake , Galovac Lake, Kozjak Lake... - mutually
conected with numerous large and smaller waterfalls. Plitvice
waterfalls are created by deposition of travertine -a kind of
limestone that created this unique and attractive wonder of
nature. Plitvice National Park is the area surrounded by dense
forests of beech, fir and spruce, watered by varous springs of
the Korana River. Plitvice Nationa Park is decorated with
several caves and flower meadows too. Brown bear found ,
among other animal species, their home in Plitvica Lakes too.
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5. 4. SJEVERNI VELEBIT
National Park Sjeverni Velebit includes a diversity of karstic
phenomena, flora and fauna, which is just a part of this natural
world. The Park covers the surface of 109 km2, and inside there
is the Hajdučki & Rožanski Ledges Strict Reserve, known for
its geomorphological phenomena - the pits. There are more
than 150 pits discovered, out of which the most famous is
Luke's pit, discovered in 1992. Velebit is an untamed
mountainous ridge which looms as large in the Croatian
mentality as it does on the ground. Lying adjacent to the
Adriatic and occupying over 2,000 sq km in a belt 145km long
and up to 30km wide, this limestone mass is a designated
UNESCO biosphere reserve. Velebit is perfect for those
wanting to explore a fascinating area in solitude. It is possible
to hike the whole length of the ridge, following Premuzic’s path
and staying in mountain huts, whilst the more compact
Paklenica National Park also offers excellent walking
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opportunities.
6. •
5. PAKLENICA that cover the most attractive
Paklenica is Croatian National park
parts of southern Velebit, as well as its highest peaks, all located in
Lika region. Paklenica is an area of unusual contact between the sea
and the mountain, rich in natural forests of beech, black pine and
mountain pine. This is a habitat for the endemic plant called
pljeskarica in Croatian (Arenaria orbicularis) and other plant and
animal rarities, filled with karstic forms. It is famous for some parts of
Mala Paklenica and Velika Paklenica. National Park Paklenica covers
an area of 96 km2.
• The highest peaks is Sveto brdo (1753 m). The main attraction of the
Paklenica Park are two impressive canyons of Velika and Mala
Paklenica, vertically cut into the mountain from the sea to the
Velebit's highest peaks. In this small area of the national park, there
are several unusual carst forms, caves, and varied flora and fauna.
There are various species of large mammals in the park. too.
Throughout the park, one can see game species such as roe deer ,
red deer , chamois and wild boar. Large predator species include the
brown bear, the wolf and the lynx - though there are not a lot of
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visitors who can claim seeing them.
7. 6. KRKA
• National Park Krka : The empire of Krka River, the magnificent
karstic beauty traveling two thirds of its way to the sea through
canyons, is a complete opposite of Kornati. On its green path,
it has seven falls, the last one being Skradinski buk with an
average flow of 55 cubic meters of water per second. National
Park Krka is rich in flora and fauna. 222 bird species live there,
making it one of the most valuable ornithological areas in
Europe. You can visit it by boat, car or on foot. Make sure you
visit the ethno museum on one of the old mills. National Park
Krka also has the only hawk training center in Croatia where
you can se presentations of hunting with hawks and hawk
trainers’ skills.
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8. 7. KORNATI
• KORNATI ISLANDS is a group of about 130 islands, islets and
reefs sprinkled in the deep blue sea of the Adriatic covering an
area of about 64 sq km. The Kornati archipelago is in Dalmatia,
a coastal region of Croatia just across the cities of Zadar and
Sibenik.
• The largest island is Kornat from which the archipelago takes
its name. Other larger islands are, Piskara, Kurba Vela, Zut, Sit ,
Vrgada and Levrnaka. Apart from a tiny area of cultivated land
with fig trees, olives and vineyards, Kornati islands are rocky,
covered with thin grass, rare trees and Mediterranean scrubs.
• Over the time erosion has been caused by the sea, over grazing
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9. 8. MLJET
• The National Park Mljet was established in early sixties of last
century. It covers about 30 square kilometers of area on the
western bit of Island MLJET, which is about 1/3 of the Island. It
consist of two natural salt lakes ( Veliko and Malo jezero) that
are interconnected by a narrow channel. Veliko jezero (Large
Lake) covers the area of 1,5 square kilometers. Malo Jezero
(Small Lake) is about 1/4 of square kilometers. The salinity of
the water in the lakes is bit lower than in the sea, due to intake
of fresh waters. The temperature of the Lakes is usually higher
then open sea temperatures for about 4 degrees centigrade.
Due to these details, Veliko and Malo Jezero are popular places
for visitors to swim in. Both lakes are surrounded with dense
old pine forest. In the middle of Veliko Jezero there is a little
island called Melita where Benedictine monastery is located.
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10. THEY GOT PROCLAIMED NATIONAL
PARKS IN:
• Risnjak (Croatian National Park since September 15, 1953)
• Brijuni (Croatian National Park since October 27, 1983)
• Plitvice Lake (Croatian National Park since April 8, 1949)
• Sjeverni Velebit (Croatian National Park since June 2, 1999)
• Paklenica (Croatian National Park since October 19, 1949)
• Krka (Croatian National Park since January 24, 1985)
• Kornati (Croatian National Park since July 24, 1980)
• Mljet (Croatian National Park since November 12, 1960)
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