The Krka National Park was proclaimed in 1985 and got its name after the river Krka with total area of 109 square kilometres along the Krka River flow. The Krka River starts close to the city Knin and ends by creating the ria near the city Šibenik. The ria is the mouth of the river that flows into the sea, created by the submergence of the river bed after the rise of the Adriatic sea level (for 135 meters after the last quaternary glaciation). In the ria of the Krka River, seawater extends to the base of Skradinski buk, the most beautiful waterfall with travertine barriers where is possible to go swimming under the waterfall. As the area of the National Park is large, it offers a lot for visitors: various footpaths, sightseeing tours, boat trips, souvenir shops, restaurants, remains of the first European hydroelectric plant, ethno museum with the presentation of the traditional everyday work and lifestyle of Croatians before modern age, and if you get tired or too hot – just jump in the refreshing waters of Krka River. There are also several remains of unpreserved fortresses dating back to the Roman times.
Excursions to the Krka Waterfalls start at 8:00 am from Zadar and various surrounding smaller places, with a pick up from your location. After about 45 minutes drive on the highway, in the small city Skradin the boat ride of around 25 minutes takes us to the National Park. The tour starts by crossing a bridge to take a look at the remains of the first hydroelectric plant in Europe, designed by Nikola Tesla and opened only a couple of days after the first one in the world on Niagara falls. We continue following the path of Franz Joseph I and his lovely wife Sissy, taking a peak from the viewpoint built specially for them. The path will take us to the ethno village – a couple of museum houses, built in the traditional Mediterranean manner from stones, in which we can find weavers machines, traditional clothing items, traditional kitchen, a blacksmith’s workshop, washing machine made out of wood, clever usage of a waterfall to build the laundry, old mills… After the museum starts the tour through the park footpath where we can find educational boards with photos of animals and plants we can encounter in the park. The tour ends again by the Skradinski buk waterfall, where is planned a lunch break and two hours of free time – you can either swim under the beautiful waterfall or take some alone time to explore the park. For the return we take a boat one more time, sailing back to Skradin, and around 3:00 PM we should be back in Zadar which leaves plenty time to enjoy Zadar’s beaches in the afternoon.
*In the price is included: transportation with an air conditioned bus, a private guide, entrance tickets and a delicious lunch package (chocolate croissant, large filled baguette, seasonal fruit, juice and water).
Want to book a tour? zadarguidedtours@gmail.com
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