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 Sibenik stands at the mouth of the River Krka, which rises just outside Knin and flows through a sequence of gorges, lakes and rapids before meeting the sea. Although the whole stretch of the Krka valley between the towns of Knin and Skradin has national park status (Nacionalni park Krka), it's the section of the park just east of Skradin, only 12km out from Sibenik, that most visitors gravitate towards.
Here the river descends via a sequence of mini-waterfalls at Skradinski buk (Skradin Falls) before flowing through a small but picturesque canyon to the town of Skradin itself. The upper reaches of the river are much less swamped by crowds, although there's a good deal worth seeing here, including two historic monasteries and another stretch of falls - all of which are accessible by national-park-operated excursion boats.
Visiting the park
There are two main entrance points to the national park: the town of Skradin itself, 4km north of Skradinski buk, from where national park boats ferry vis- itors to the falls, and Lozovac, on the hill above Skradinski buk, from where a bus shuttle shuttle service leads down to the river.There are five buses daily from Sibenik to Skradin, passing through Lozovac on the way, making it an easy day-trip from the city - although there's little information on return services once you arrive, so it's a good idea to check the relevant times at Sibenik bus station before setting out. An early start is advised if you want to explore more than just the area around Skradinski buk - boat timings mean that a full day is required if you want to venture into the upriver sections of the park. The entrance fee, payable at pavilions sited on the main approaches to Skradinski buk, includes travel on the shuttle boats and buses, but lengthier boat excursions to the upper stretches of the river cost extra. Skradin
The classic approach to the park is via SKRADIN, a pleasing, one-street town of stone houses with a marina squeezed into one of the river's small inlets. It's the only place with any accommodation in the environs of the park: the tourist office, on the waterfront at Obala bang Subića 1, has information on private rooms, while the Skradinski buk hotel, bang in the centre of the village at Burinovac bb, is much swankier than similarly priced places back in Sibenik, its small en-suite rooms coming with cool Scandinavian-style furnishings, TV and air conditioning. There's a string of cafes along the waterfront, and a superb seafood restaurant in the shape of the Bonaca, which serves up local fish and shellfish on an outdoor ter- race slightly uphill the marina.
Into the park
National park boats leave Skradin's harbourfront hourly for the trip up to Skradinski buk, a twenty-minute journey; should you miss the boats, you can walk by following the road from Skradin along the river's right bank, taking you between steep, scrub-covered hills (50min). Skradinski buk itself is a bit like a smaller Plitvice – a five-hundred-metre sequence of seventeen mini-cascades spilling over barriers of travertine (limestone sediment), behind which lie pools surrounded by reeds and semi-submerged forest. One of the more dramatic sequences is just up from the boat landing, with several tiers of waterfall tumbling into a broad, shallow pool – it's the only part of the park where swimming is permitted, and is correspondingly full of frolicking holiday-makers on warm summer days. From here the main path crosses over to the eastern side of Skradinski buk, climbing past a collection of poky stone watermills positioned directly above the rushing Krka. There's also a network of short wooden walkways which break off from the main path, leading you above the gurgling waters and through the thick riverine vegetation. It's a beautiful location, and you could spend an entire day here, lolling around on the rocks beside the tumbling water.
After climbing past the cataracts for 1km or so the path levels out, arriving at the bus stop used by the national park's shuttle services to Lozovac. A kiosk here handles information and tickets for the boat excursions to the northern stretches of the river (a fairly obvious path descends from the kiosk to the quay from which these boats depart). The most popular northbound trip (reckon on 2hr for the journey there and back) takes you to the islet of Visovac just upstream from Skradinski buk, where you can visit a Franciscan monastery nestling amongst a thick cluster of cypresses. The monastery has a small collection of seventeenth-century paintings and, in its valuable library, some incunabula and a beautifully illustrated fifteenth-century Aesop's Fables, one of only three such in the world. From here another boat continues 10km further upstream to Roški Slapovi (2hr return), a set of falls only slightly less dramatic than those at Skradinski buk. Finally, another boat takes you from Roški slapovi through a rugged canyon-scape to the ruins of Nečven, a fourteenth-century Croatian fortress just short of Knin (another 2hr return), pausing en route at Krka monastery, a Serbian Orthodox foundation nestling in a lovely rustic setting on the western bank of the river, the monastery church rich in incense and icons. If you want to fit the entire Skradinski buk-Visovac-Roški slapovi-Nečven itinerary into one day, you'll need to be at the Skradinski buk excursion-boat quay by about 10am.
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