Krka waterfalls is one of the most beautiful parts of Croatia and especially the Skradinski buk section: cascades, woods, lush vegetation, historic mills… Simply beautiful! That’s the reason why this part of the NP Krka is so popular and there is hardly a person coming to this part of Croatia that is not visiting at least once.

This post is basically a step by step tour of Krka National Park – Skradinski waterfalls section – starting from Lozovac entrance. There is also Skradin entrance and there you board the boat to the NP Krka waterfalls (quite spectacular!) but this is no less interesting and popular way to reach the waterfalls.

Reaching Lozovac is easy: just follow the directions to National Park Krka from Šibenik and it will take you about 20 minutes to get there. Here is what you will see:

Once you get the tickets (95 kuna – 2010 price), board the bus to the waterfalls area. Buses are very frequent – about every 10 minutes. Special treat is watching the buses passing each other on this narrow, curvy road!
Once you exit the bus, follow the signs and choose if you want to first visit the old mills (now museums) or if you would like to enjoy the trails before getting to the main waterfall. I usually choose the second option…

The trails are all elevated since the water level in winter and spring is much higher. The trail goes over small waterfalls and numerous small lakes. All in a heavily wooded area with lots of flowers and various plant species.

The upper part of the waterfalls area is heavily wooded and quite pretty before reaching the lower area closer to the waterfalls wher one can enjoy and admire all the beauty of this spectacular waterfall!
The area is also enclosed for swimming a, in the hot summer days, many people swim and enjoy beach like atmosphere by the river. We, Croatians, are more of sea people and I would never swim in a river… No particular reason but it is not something I am used to.

After crossing the bridge, people get to a more active area with local women selling dried or fresh figs, almonds, olive oil, grapa brandy and herb brandy… All domestic and all quite tasty!

Now climbing up the stairs, ruins of the World’s second hydroelectric plant are visible! The oldest Jaruga power plant was the first alternating current power system in Croatia, the first commercial hydroelectric power plant in Europe, and second in the world. It was set in operation on 28 August 1895 at 20:00, only three days after the Adams Power Plant on the Niagara Falls! It was designed to power the street lights in Šibenik, making it the third city in the world with street lights. Remains of the original building can still be seen as well as some of the equipment.

Going up the stairs, a lovely plateau opens up with some great views of the upper section of the waterfalls and a very special place! This is a perfect spot for honeymoon couples as it was specially erected for Austro Hungarian emperor Franc Josef II while he was touring Dalmatia with his wife!

Next stop is either a restaurant or the museum housed in several small mills beautifully restored and equipped with traditional tools!

Most fascinating is always a “washing machine” but I enjoy watching big mill stones turn and make flour!

We also had an unexpected visitor! Especially this early in a day! The poor thing did not look all right but I did not want to catch it by hand as they can have rabies. We just watched it and too photos 🙂

To go back, just board the bus at the same spot where you get off and enjoy a short ride up the hill.
Other sections of the NP Krka area are also quite interesting – Roški Slap in particular!
Walking tour of Krka takes anywhere between 1 – 2 hours but mostly depending on the crowds. More information on the park can be found at their official site: http://www.npkrka.hr

We offer walking tour of NP Krka from Zadar and Split at our www.tours-in-croatia.com site specializing in only private tours in Croatia.

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