Nature Wonders of the Republic of Croatia (Defintive)

KOPAČKI RIT NATURE PARK
A flooded bird haven

Kopački Rit Nature Park is a pearl located in the far north-east of Croatia, at the border between Slavonia and Baranja. It is situated in one of the best-preserved floodplains in Central Europe – the vast wetland created by the mighty rivers Danube and Drava. This great oasis teeming with plants and animals, particularly birds, is home to 300 different bird species. The king of all is the white-tailed eagle, claiming the skies over the lowlands of Baranja, with the deer bellow roaring from afar.

Not only water, but also people flood this natural wonder - visitors are simply drawn to the nature park, to pass through its creatively designed Mali Sakadaš reception centre, walk the White Water-Lily Boardwalk, reminiscent of the famous 16th-century Suleiman Bridge that once stood there, and take a boat ride immersed in unique natural beauty.

In 1993, the Kopački Rit Nature Park was added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, with its unique inverted river delta of the Danube River which makes Kopački Rit a site of universal value.

TELAŠĆICA NATURE PARK
Sunset in the most beautiful natural port

Extraordinary natural beauty was bestowed upon Croatia in the form of Telašćica Bay, located in the southern part of the Dugi Otok island and recognizable by its indented coastline. It became a nature park in 1988. The name “Telašćica” originates from the medieval name of the bay, Tilagus, which denoted its resemblance to three connected lakes. Telašćica is surrounded by a ring of 13 islands and islets and there are 6 more islets situated right inside the bay. Nevertheless, it was not only beauty that earned Telašćica the nature park title, but also its abundance in plant and animal species, diversity of seabed life, geological characteristics and remains of past human activities.

Telašćica is not only the largest, but also the most beautiful natural port in the Adriatic Sea. On the one hand, there are dozens of low-lying beaches, while on the other hand, there are the cliffs of the Dugi Otok island, which rise up as high as 161 meters above the sea. The saline lake Mir (which translates as “tranquillity”) is renowned for its healing properties and it is a special jewel of the nature park. This nature park, with its many hours of sunshine and almost 500 species of Mediterranean plants and abundant underwater flora and fauna basking in all that sun, is definitely worth visiting.

THE BLUE CAVE
Magic of light and sea

The magical Blue Cave is situated on the north-eastern side of the island of Biševo, in a small cove called Balun, from where it attracts visitors from the nearby island of Vis. This geomorphological feature of the Adriatic karst was created by centuries of waves crashing against the steep seashore. This 24-metre long cave was discovered in 1884 and it has been protected since 1951. The most amazing thing about this cave is the effect of light created in it: around noon each day, rays of sunshine enter the cave through a natural opening under the surface of the sea and pass all the way to the white rocks at the bottom of the cave, where they are reflected, creating an effect of colouring the cave blue and making any objects submerged in water inside the cave shimmer in a shade of silver.

The cave is a popular site among tourist, who flock by thousands to see it, quite literally so on summer days. The cave can only be entered from the side of the sea, in a small boat, through a narrow, man-made passage created in the 19thcentury. Swimming in the cave is no longer allowed. One can only bow down, crawl inside from the boat and admire the magic that must remain preserved.

Hrvoje Dečak, MA
Journalism, journalist and
publishing house editor