Nacionalni park

Northern Velebit

“One life is simply not enough to get to know Velebit” – that is how people who know the mountain best describe its amazing diversity. Velebit may not be the highest Croatian mountain, but it is certainly the most renowned. It represents a spine connecting the northern and southern part of Croatia. It is also a source of national pride, an area of tales about fairies and immense beauty. The cuts in the mountain landscape resemble the wrinkles on faces of people who once lived on the littoral and continental slopes of the mountain. Freedom is the key characteristic of the mountain, say the witnesses who refer to their visits to the mountain as “coming home”.

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Kornati

The Kornati archipelago – a labyrinth of stone, with eighty nine islands, islets and rocks in the sea. It is the most indented island group in the Mediterranean. Regardless of whether you look at the Kornati Islands from the air, from the sea, or from sightseeing points on the islands, the view is equally impressive – and yet different to the eye every single time. Every vista is more than worth experiencing, and every perspective worth examining. Dry stone walls on the Kornati Islands are silent and steadfast witnesses to hard work on modest soil on stone surrounded by crystal-clear sea. The Kornati Islands are the stone pearls of the Mediterranean.

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Krka

We might call it the Magnificent Seven: Bilušića buk, Brljan, Manojlovac, Rošnjak, Miljacka slap, Roški slap and Skradinski buk. These are the tufa cascades of the Krka River – for many, the most beautiful blue line of the Dalmatian karst. Gorgeous cascades and thick, rich sound of life given by water. In many of its parts, the Krka’s flow is calm, and its cascades are announced by “silver necklaces” – increasingly thick rippling of water, the color of which turns silver, resembling countless necklaces scattered on the river. All that silver will eventually splash over the cascades, and beauty will obtain a completely new form.

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Nacionalni park

Mljet

Mljet – the green island. The Ogygia of Homer's Odyssey. According to legend, the nymph Calypso, lover of the Greek hero Odysseus, chose this island as her home. The beauty of the island was the only beauty surpassing hers, making Odysseus, that eternal traveler, stay there for years. Are there any facts in the legend? Some historians are convinced that, by describing Ogygia, Homer actually wrote about the island of Mljet. Others doubt that. The romantics would say that only the sea knows the answer. Well, whatever the answer may be, a cave bearing the name of Odysseus, that Greek adventurer, still stands there carved in stone.

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Telašćica

Welcome to the place where the steepest white Adriatic cliffs 162 meters high dive into the blue sea. Common bottlenose dolphins, the last marine mammals of the Adriatic, have chosen Telašćica as their favorite gathering place, swimming in pods and providing visitors with a splendid photo opportunity on top of what is an unforgettable moment anyway. Just as you watch them, you might miss a peregrine falcon that flew off from the cliff at that very moment. It is impossible to capture the totality of beauty of Croatia’s most beautiful and largest Adriatic bay, Telašćica. Numerous coves, capes and rocks, and the safest harbor for those who sail – that is Telašćica.

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Dinara

Dinara Nature Park, our youngest park, designated in February 2021, was probably named after the Illyrian tribe Dindari who used this mountain for livestock grazing. Dinara is the highest mountain in the Republic of Croatia, and the first Croatian state was founded at its foothills. In a way, Dinara is today a symbol of Croatian statehood.

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Nacionalni park

Brijuni

The Brijuni Islands were created by separating from what used to be the landmass of the Istrian peninsula. There is no other place with so much holm oak and bay laurel in one single place, or so much shade under the crowns of trees up to twenty meters wide. Brijuni are a wonderful image of nature cultivated by man, with the aim of providing the most pleasant stay possible in the splendor of green vegetation, remarkably cultivated landscape, and scent and vicinity of the sea. Man shaped nature according to one’s own needs, creating an unusual landscape in the Adriatic, gladly visited by a number of statesmen, famous actors, musicians, artists, scientists, noblemen and other renowned personalities. Brijuni have been and remain synonymous with the joy of leasure.

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Žumberak-Samobor highlands

The mountain area of Žumberak and Samobor is one of the least inhabited areas in Croatia. Life here has never been easy, and the only way to live it was to adjust to the laws of nature. Over thousands of years of their presence, people living in the area have managed to preserve the balance – as seen in the vistas of traditional villages, pastures and fields, that still merge harmoniously into the background of endless forests. It is precisely this mosaic of preserved traditional landscapes, coupled with the rich flora and fauna, geological characteristics and valuable archaeological findings, that attracts hikers, mountain climbers and nature lovers to the area today.

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Papuk

Papuk – a Slavonian mountain. The peaks of Papuk rise from the depths of the former Pannonian Sea, up to almost one thousand meters above sea level. This geologically most diverse area of Croatia is the first and only geopark in the country. Mountain layers reveal a history that has completely changed the appearance of space – from the Pannonian Sea to the splendor of beech trees hundreds of years old. Despite so many changes in its depths, the mountain still speaks of all the experiences lived through, readily sharing them with visitors.

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Kopački rit

Kopački rit – a wetland home to thousands of species. A paradise for birds, and shelter to hundreds of bird species. A natural triangle between the rivers Danube and Drava, and the largest internal delta of the Danube. This area is one of the largest European wetlands, and it never looks the same, with every new visit bringing a new insight into nature. Kopački rit is a mystical place where one returns to the unhindered fullness of life.

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Velebit

When looking at it from the air, the mountain of Velebit resembles a stone giant, a huge boundary between the land and the sea. It is a mix of karst dolines, mountain crests, sinkholes, ridges, rounded and sharp peaks, marked by captivating biodiversity and beauty. However, many will describe the mountain in a manner that has nothing to do with biology, geography or speleology. They will say that the mountain has invited them, and that it is the most powerful invitation they have ever received, made of silent stone.

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Lastovo archipelago

What would it feel like to go to a place where the sea is so crystal clean, that you can see the seabed even when the sea is about fifty meters deep... A place where the tradition is so cherished, that written pledges of respect for island customs were once requested of foreigners, and where people are so full of temperament, and so closely attached to the earth and the sea... A place where it was forbidden to plant walnuts, so witches would not come to the island, and where there are no poisonous snakes... Can such a place really exist? Yes indeed, and its name is – Lastovo. If you come here, this island will remain forever engraved in your memory, as the place that even the Greek god Zeus considered to be one of the most beautiful islands of the world.

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Plitvice lakes

Lake gardens connected by cascades and hugged by mountain forests. Plitvice Lakes represent a majestic and dynamic face of nature in constant transformation. Science may be clear about the origin of Plitvice Lakes and tufa barriers, but water has always had mythical characteristics for people in karst regions as well. According to legend, following a long drought, the Black Queen took mercy on the karst and let tremendous rain fall on the ground, with the remaining water creating the lakes.

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Paklenica

Giant ravines of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica leave no place for indifference due to the insignificance of man below a mountain. The force of nature did not hesitate to show its superiority in this place, but also its mercy towards those who respect her. This is where the highest peaks of the Velebit Mountain are located. Paklenica itself is a challenging rock-climbing treat. Its name is derived from black pine sap, the so-called “paklina”. The mountain is the autochthonous home to black pine forests and clear mountain creeks flowing beneath them, cut into the deep canyons of Paklenica by the force of water.

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Risnjak

In the forest expanses of the region of Gorski kotar, two barren mountain massifs are clearly visible – Risnjak and Snježnik. Only three kilometers apart, they watch one another with their stony faces, as mountain twins of sorts. In the lowest parts of the Park, the river Kupa – for many, the most beautiful Croatian river – starts its long voyage. Risnjak is a forest kingdom, and it is precisely its dense forest communities that have presented the mountain with a “ticket” for entry into the exclusive society of national parks.

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Vransko lake

A lake with Mediterranean climate. The largest natural lake and one of the largest wetland areas in the Mediterranean part of Croatia. A refuge of endangered birds, and a wintering site for approximately one hundred thousand water birds. A lake paradise for anglers and cyclists, separated from the sea by a narrow limestone ridge. It is a special feeling indeed, to see so much diversity of waters at such a small distance. The sea right next to the lake? Or is it the lake right next to the sea? The description depends on which of those two forms of blue you prefer.

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Učka

Učka is the highest Istrian mountain and an area with many reminders of how man can live on the mountain and with the mountain. For centuries, people survived here by tending to domestic animals, cultivating land and using the forest. Human hands have left only good traces – changing the landscape only to the extent that was necessary for harmonious survival in nature, and no more than that. Dry stone walls, shepherd’s huts and field shelters are silent and steadfast witnesses of a new and different ecosystem of Učka. The mountain has been changing its faces over time, but its biodiversity remains preserved.

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Lonjsko polje

Lonjsko polje: it is one of the biggest and best-preserved natural flood areas in Europe. Floodplain forests of pedunculate oak and narrow-leaved ash growing in the area are highly representative deciduous forest complexes, not merely at the level of Europe, but throughout the Western Palearctic. Lonjsko polje enjoys a truly special place on the map of European natural wonders: it is one of the last areas in Europe where traditional grazing is still preserved, and livestock still roams freely on large joint pastures; on top of that, it has the first declared “stork village” in Europe... Whether by foot, bike, canoe, river ferry or boat, you are free to discover the uniqueness of Lonjsko polje for yourself.

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Medvednica

A green mountain is watching over a city with almost a million inhabitants. The presence of man on the mountain of Medvednica goes back 45 thousand years, back to the time when the Neanderthals lived in the cave of Veternica. Today, the mountain is home to 18 bat species. As the name of the mountain says, with the Croatian word for bear in its root, bears once used to live on the mountain in large numbers. A thousand-year old yew tree might hide a witch heart mushroom somewhere in its shadow. Indeed, witches used to meet here once upon a time, and when they would touch the ground, a red mushroom would grow on that spot. A fitting reminder of tales from times past.

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Biokovo

Biokovo – it is a mountain with roots in the sea, and forehead in the clouds. Every step to the highest peak, Sveti Jure at 1,762 meters above sea level, is immensely rewarded by the panorama of the sea and the islands, the Dalmatian hinterland, mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighboring Italy. On the stone of Biokovo, 87 churches and chapels have been erected. In addition to its proud heights, the mountain also has surprising depths. Over 400 pits and caves have been discovered. Some of them are eternally filled with snow and ice, resisting even the hottest sunshine. People used to inhabit the area of Biokovo even prior to the invention of the alphabet. The mountain is an old home, which largely preserved its ancient face.

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Northern Velebit

Kornati

Krka

Mljet

Telašćica

Dinara

Brijuni

Žumberak-Samobor highlands

Papuk

Kopački rit

Velebit

Lastovo archipelago

Plitvice lakes

Paklenica

Risnjak

Vransko lake

Učka

Lonjsko polje

Medvednica

Biokovo

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Volunteer in Our Parks

You have many volunteering options to choose from, depending on your abilities, possibilities, interests and availability of positions in each of the public services administering Croatia’s Parks.