Krka National Park, Croatia

I started the day riding in a bus for over an hour so I saw some of the Croatia countryside.  There weren't a lot of people in the rural areas. 

The Krka River which creates the beautiful landscape to which we were headed. 

This photo shows both the arid karst landscape of prickly bushes and the stone walls we saw dotting the land. These walls are called suhozid (dry-stone wall, in singular) or suhozidi (dry-stone walls, in plural).  People used this technique to protect their land and plant species from harsh weather.

Finally we arrived at Krka National Park.

But we weren't to our destination yet. First we descended hundreds of feet to water level. 

Down a very curvy road. 

 

  Double click to enlarge for reading.

You will have to double click to see the yellow line that represents the trail that we walked around the waterfall. The Skradinski buk waterfall biological and geological trail is 1.2 miles long with a couple hundred foot of elevation loss going down only to climb back up on the other side. 

Double click to enlarge for reading 

The cascades are composed of travertine barriers, islands, and lakes. They can be viewed throughout the entire year thanks to a network of paths and bridges.

Several renovated water mills, rolling mills, and washing columns that for centuries have utilized the power of the river are also located at the Skradinski buk. Preserving the traditional folk architecture, some individual mills have been turned into souvenir shops, while others have been transformed into exhibition areas for ethnographic collections.

These ducks are having a nice rest on a log. 

Several small bridges connect the water mills.

Grain hauling wagon

The watermills on Skradinski buk waterfall are a preindustrial complex that once milled wheat for the whole of Dalmatia. The Dalmatian chrysanthemum is a plant that was milled at the mills of the Šupuk family at Skradinski buk waterfall, and it was used as an insecticide during the digging of the Panama Canal

Since we were at the park in the fall, the water level was really low. 

All dry here.

This sun lit spot in the clear water contained some fish 

There are numerous large fig trees in Krka National Park. Figs originated in the Mediterranean area. Some of the trees produce huge figs. The fig trees grow both in water and on land. They are easy to spot all along boardwalk path.

Travertine ledge missing its water. 

Click to enlarge 

Little purple flowers everywhere. 

About 1/2 way into our walk we came across a picnic area.  Displays explaining the various animal and plant life of the area surrounded it. 

The trail became less level boardwalk and more stairs. 

Finally we made it to the foot of the falls. 

The combined waters of the Krka and Čikola Rivers spill together over the 17 steps of Skradinski buk waterfall, spread over a length of 2600 feet. The waterfall is 650 to 1300 feet wide, with a total elevation difference of 150 feet. Most of the foam that you can see under the falls on Skradinski buk waterfall is, in fact, natural soap.

This overhead view gives you a better idea of the area we were in.

This view from the bridge shows just how shallow the water is in places. 

Yep, only an inch deep here. 

After the bridge we started climbing up the hillside.  This is a part from the Krka Hydroelectric plant. 

 The Krka Hydroelectric Plant, the world's first hydropower plant to power a city - Šibenik

After the park, we headed off to Skradin. 

Passing over the river again. 

The restaurant in Skradin where we ate.  There were three busloads of people eating all at once.  No choice on the food.  You ate what they put in front of you. 

View of the tollbooths to enter the road we were on. 

Tucked into the side of this canyon is the remains of the Utvrda Kličevica fortress.  Just the walls remain.