NP Mljet, Croatia

National Park Mljet

 

National Park Mljet is located on the western part of the island. Mljet was declared to be a national park in 1960. It covers approximately one third of the island, and it is situated in the territory of ‘’Crna klada’’ to ‘’Goli’’ cape. Mljet or popularly called a green island is very famous for his lush vegetation, whose forests cover more than 90% of the island. Like many Adriatic islands, Mljet has numerous bays, islets and islands. One of the particularities of this beautiful national park are its two lakes Big and Small Lake, which are connected to the sea by channels. This phenomenon is recognized around the world is one of the biggest reasons of why Mljet was declared to be a national park, of course, among all the other beauties.

Mljet lakes

 

Big Lake is connecting to the sea nearby Soline, with a channel on the place called a great bridge. A large bridge was narrow in the past, which allowed easier entering of strong sea currents. At this point the Benedictines built a mill that was used for the production of salt, so that is the reason why nearby town got his name Soline. Great bridge was demolished in 1958, so Josip Broz Tito could enter the lake with his yacht.

Untouched nature and perfectly clean air attracts tourist from all over the world as the locals to spend a day picnic on Mljet. Considering that Mljet belongs to the Dubrovnik archipelago, it is very easy to reach Mljet by one-hour boat ride from main harbor in Gruž. Boat will take you to the settlement called Sobra, but in season you can even take a hydrofoil which will take you to Polače, where from you are taking a minibus that leads you straight to National park Mljet. I believe it is a good recommendation for a tourist to take a bike and go on a tour around the park, take a few good shoots for a lifetime memory.

Besides the lakes, which we have mentioned earlier in text, we also need to write a few things about the tiny islets St. Mary, situated in the middle of the Great Lake. You can see there a Benedictine monastery, which dates from 12th century and if you want to visit a small island, it is possible with a small boat that rides straight to the St Mary Island.

Mljet tourist places

Polace belongs to the national park and is very well known because of a great historical and cultural value in this area. Her Roman Palace is the third best preserved monument of Roman culture in the Adriatic. In addition to the palace there are also early Christian basilica, which fit very nicely in the bay, protected by a strong winds.  

The island of Mljet was known in prehistoric times. Mentioned by Greek sailors in their writings, and in 1^st. century was inhabited by the Illyrians. Settling the Mljet began most likely because of its large amounts of drinking water and its beautiful and sheltered bay which is concealed by many small islands. Entire area of Mljet was inhabited in past. A rich inheritance left by our ancestors, build so remarkably, even now we can just admire to its perfectionism.

Mljet is famous for its legends:

Given that the island of Mljet has numerous caves which have great similarities to caves mentioned in the stories of Odysseus and Calypso’s meeting. At the entrance of the cave there is a rock caring a name Ogiranj, which represents a great danger to the sailors, especially during high tide, because it completely covers the sea. There is a strong possibility that Homer‘s Ogigija was from this place as Malta was mentioned in the story. For those who do not know, Mljet was called de Malta in ancient times.

The vineyards from the story of Odysseus are located just nearby the cave.

These are just some of the natural and cultural beauties of National park Mljet. See our short video clip, and experience this story through beautiful images and understand why Mljet Croatians are proud to have Mljet. For those who choose to spend their holidays in Dubrovnik, certainly suggest spending one day of holiday’s right here on the island of Mljet. 

Look at our site www.super-apartments.com and find yourself accommodation that will suit you best.

National park Kornati, Croatia

National park Kornati – Nautical paradise

 

 

Nautical tourism on Kornati:

Beautiful Kornati Islands are situated in the central of the Adriatic, stretching along with many Zadar and Šibenik’s islands which make a stunning picture of unspeakable beauty. National park Kornati consists of 89 islands, islets and rocks, and cover 220 km of mostly sea, which makes Kornati islands a real sailing paradise. National Park Kornati is definitely most indented area in Adriatic and occupy 12 % area of the islands in the Adriatic. National park Kornati are divided into two groups, the Upper and Lower Kornati.  The largest islands are Island Kornat and Island Žut, which count 70% total area of this archipelago.

We will mention some of the most popular parts of the park land, we advise you to take time and start touring. 

The crowns are definitely the most famous geological trace changes in this area. Vertical cliffs are the most interesting phenomenon on the islands. The longest crown is on the island of Mana, and the highest one is Klobucak. Some very interesting pieces live on the top of the crowns, such as peregrine falcons and common swift. It is not allowed to climb the crowns.

   

Besides the land crowns, also very interesting are the ones find in the sea. Diving in this area is allowed only in organized diving groups. So if you want to dive in this area please contact one of the local diving centers. You can choose between 7 zones which are envisaged for visiting divers. Each undersea crown bears its own uniqueness, so I do believe that you can safely leave the recommendation to the experienced divers from this area.  

Magazinova skrila  is a very special kind of soil, called the landslide, where the limestone most likely in a earthquake, slid on the similar background. If you want to visit ’Magazinova skrila’, you will be entering a private property so we need to inform you to be a little more careful not to disturb the sheep’s or picking fruit from the owners land. 

Diving on Kornati:

Besides the all mentioned beauties, certainly we must not forget the Viewpoints. There are many famous points but we will mention only some: Otocevac, Ravni zakan, Opat. Each Viewpoint offers a unique experience and above all a great excitement. We will point out Metlina on the island of Kornat because of its impressive height and peak which is harder to reach.

Besides the geological beauty of this region, we must count and those left behind in the heritage by our ancestors. Among them we definitely need to mention Illyrian ruins. First confirmed settlements are dating from Illyrian time. You can see a multitude of small dwellings, either individually or in groups, testifying to a larger population in this part of history.

Fort Turata dates from the Byzantine time. It is considered to be built in 6^th ct. and it had a military role in this part of the ancient world.

Also very interesting are Three-nave Basilica and the Church of Our Lady of Tarca. Basilica also dates from the Byzantine era and is located below the fort Turada. Because of its size it is considered that in this period many people lived in the archipelago. Church of Our Lady of Tarca is a very modest building that was built on the ruins of older remains of the church. It is not entirely familiar when it has been built, but what is interesting for tourist, is that every first Sunday in July you can hear a Mass.

Apart from the above mentioned remains of our ancestors, you must visit Solana dating from the middle Ages and the Venetian castle which was used for collecting the taxes.

In addition to these natural beauties and the remains of ancient civilizations, I am sure your holidays on Kornati would not be complete without having a cruise between the islands of Korati. Known as the yachting paradise with the multitude of islands it will make this adventure unforgettable.  For the cruise it is enough just to buy a ticket to the Kornati Islands.

After enjoying the natural beauties, driving or diving you will be hungry, so enjoy a wide choice of restaurants and cafes offering local specialties. You can spend the night in one of the 20 bays, planed just for this purposes. Camping is not allowed but you can rent a cottage on the island or a room, or just find a place in a nearby town. 

You can find a various accommodation on www.super-apartments.com, offering villas, apartments or rooms depends on what suits you best.

During the walk you can see ships-stores circulating around the islands, certainly if you want a little snack this is the ideal option. The park is open for the visitors throughout the entire year, and information, tickets and similar you can get on reception of the National Park Kornati.

Spend at least one day of your holidays in National park Kornati and see another peculiarity that beautiful Croatian coastline offer.