May 10, 2021 - The Director of the Public Institution Krka National Park, Nella Slavica, confirmed that a new boat trip to Čikola will be available as an attraction in Krka.

Despite the fact that the beaches and islands in Croatia generate unsurpassed interest from tourists in the summer, Krka National Park is one of those destinations that, without being part of the extensive Croatian coastline, attracts thousands of visitors during the high season. And to its already busy waterfalls, river cruises, and hiking trails, park authorities have announced a new boat trip to Čikola.

As hrturizam.hr reports, the new boat trip lasts one hour and includes a drive to the lake spring Torak, a view of Ključica, the best-preserved medieval fortress in the Park, a tour of the bay Čekinac, popularly called Krnića lake, then return to Skradinski Buk. The boat departs from the pier at Skradinski Buk, and the price of an excursion for an adult is 80 kn, for children from four to eighteen 55 kn, while groups, both adults and children, have an additional discount. Also, the boat can be rented, including a guide service.

Čikola and Torak canyon (Credtis: National Park Krka)

‘‘Boat trips on the Krka River have always attracted many visitors. Precisely because they are a special attraction for all nature lovers, we made it possible to see the middle and upper reaches of the river by sailing upstream’’, said the Director of the Public Institution Krka National Park, Nella Slavica, and she added: ‘‘Last year we re-established the historical route from Roški slap downstream, and from today visitors can take a boat ride through the Čikola canyon to Lake Torak and thus get to know the fascinating beauty created by two strong rivers, the Krka and the Čikola, through a peaceful game for thousands of years’’.

Director of the Public Institution Krka National Park, Nella Slavica (Credits: Pixsell)

In the center of the confluence of the two rivers lies Torak, a lake-shaped spring. Although it is a spring, due to its round shape it looks more like a lake, so we call it a lake spring. Its diameter is 150 m, depth 30 m, and the source is located at the bottom of the lake. Torak is also the name chosen by the friends of the Krka National Park in a poll on social networks, a new ship in the Krka National Park fleet, which sailed on this favorite excursion route this spring, according to the Krka National Park.

The trip can be booked and a ticket can be bought at the boat reception at Skradinski Buk.

For more on what to do and how to get to Krka, check out our dedicated Total Croatia page HERE. Also, visit our 2021 guide on all Croatian National and Natural Parks HERE. Both now in your language!

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Doru has arrived at the Risnjak National Park, whose gorgeous forests will be his new home. It is the first of the four lynxes to be settled in Croatia as part of the international LIFE Lynx project, reports Jutarnji List on May 5, 2019.

The project aims to prevent the extinction of the lynx population in the Dinarides, which will be achieved by settling fourteen lynxes in Croatia and Slovenia over the next five years. The local community is small and isolated, and mating among close relatives threatens its survival. The only solution is the colonisation with new animals.

“We are delighted that, after many years of preparations, we have welcomed this important event for the preservation of Croatian biodiversity. In the late 19th century, lynxes disappeared from our forests, but hunters and foresters brought them back in 1973. Now it is up to us to continue with the fight to preserve these beautiful beasts,” said Tomislav Gomerčić from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb.

The project of the settling of lynxes in Croatia is carried out by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zagreb, the Karlovac Polytechnic and the BIOM association, with the support of the Risnjak National Park and the Nature of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County public institution.

Doru, a four-year-old male, weights twenty-one kilograms and was caught in late February in the Romanian forests. He spent two months in quarantine to ensure he did not transmit infectious diseases to the new habitat.

“We are glad that the among the proposed names, the people have selected Doru, which in Romanian means ‘necessary, desired.’ His name thus best describes the importance of this lynx for our population and at the same time represents an act of gratitude to our Rumanian partners,” said Miljenko Gašparac, director of the Risnjak National Park.

In order for Doru to arrive safely in Croatia, special transport was organised. “Since we are an institution with great experience in transporting various animal species and participating in a number of nature conservation projects, we are glad to have been able to assist with the transport of the lynx from Romania,” said Damir Skok, director of the Zagreb Zoo.

Among the few who attended the release of Doru were Primorje-Gorski Kotar County prefect Zlatko Komadina, president of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Hunting Association Josip Malnar and representatives of hunting associations who expressed their support for this project.

“Doru’s movements will be followed by a telemetry collar which uses satellite to determine the location of the animal and sends us the coordinates. We hope that the genetic analysis next season will confirm that Doru has ensured the survival of our lynx population,” said Ivana Selanec from the BIOM association.

Due to the lifestyle of the lynx, it is difficult to determine the number of animals living in the region precisely, but it is estimated that between 40 and 60 animals live in Croatia and only about 20 in Slovenia.

Translated from Jutarnji List.

More news about the national parks can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, April 2, 2019 - As part of the LIFE Lynx project which has been launched to prevent the extinction of the lynx population in the Dinaric Alps, the BIOM association has called on citizens to vote on a name for the first of four lynxes to be released in the Risnjak National Park.

The lynx that will soon be released in Risnjak was captured in Romania on March 4 and there are currently five proposed names and the public is invited to vote for the best name at the following link,, BIOM said in a press release.

The LIFE Lynx project team in cooperation with the staff at the Risnjak National Park have proposed that the lynx be called Dora.

"The name Doru in Romanian means 'needed' and this lynx certainly is needed for the Croatian lynx population. The Romanian name has been suggested as a sign of our gratitude to our Romanian colleagues and experts who have donated the lynx through this project in an effort to expand Croatia's lynx population," the press release said.

The other proposed names are Grof, Furman, Max and Oskar.

Once the lynx is named and it will be released in Croatia, the animal's movements will be under surveillance via a long-range telemetry tracking collar which will be able to locate the lynx's several times during the day.

Croatia's endangered lynx population is being researched with the assistance of photo-traps set up in typical habitat for the animal and scientists have so far identified 40 adult animals in Croatia, BIOM said.

More news about Croatia’s national parks can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Blogger Dražen Breitenfeld decided to try out some of the 500 kilometres of new bike trails in the Krka National Park. To begin with, he chose a visit to the Rogovo viewing point and came to the new Visitor Centre in Laškovica, which is the starting point for cycling through the most beautiful parts of Krka, reports tportal.hr on February 3, 2019.

The Krka national park offers fourteen cycling routes, from mountainous to relatively easy trekking routes, which will undoubtedly be exciting and highly-visited since even beginners will be able to master them.

In addition to Laškovica, the bike routes start from Skradin and the Eco campus in Puljani. These locations also have national park facilities where you can get all the information about routes, bike maps and everything else you need for a perfect getaway. Although it is still winter, when the weather is beautiful and sunny it is possible to enjoy a comfortable ride and the spectacular views of the Krka River and Miljevac plateau.

Laškovica can be reached easily and quickly from the A1 motorway, from the Skradin exit. Then you should continue to Plastovo and towards the Roški waterfall. After half an hour of driving, you will arrive in Laškovica. There is a large car park where you can leave your car and prepare for a bicycle ride, as well as a smart bench, an electric car charging station, and a nice bar where you can drink coffee, water or beverages. The trails are well-marked with blue markings and, apart from the number of the route, include the location which you are approaching, which is good for easier orientation, so you do not have to take out your map all the time.

The map should nevertheless be taken at the starting point when you pay for a ticket to enter the Krka National Park. You have to buy just a regular ticket for tourists, which is cheaper outside of the primary tourist season. It now costs 30 kuna; in pre-season it is 65 kuna, while in July and August you will have to pay 110 kuna.

The Trek 5 route from Laškovica to Rogovo and Dračevica is just fourteen kilometres long. You use an asphalt road from Laškovica towards the village of Rupa, but before the village, you turn left. The trail then follows a macadam path. A half hour ride later and on your left, you will see a phenomenal view of Promina and Krka. Soon you will come to a location where you will temporarily leave your bike. Nearby is Rogovo, from where you can see almost half of the national park. Downstream is the Krka river which expands into a large lake, and you can also see the Visovac island. Everything is blue and green, and you will want to stay there for quite some time. There are climbs on this route, but you will hardly feel them since they are very mild.

Another feature which you have to visit is the Roški waterfall, which can be reached by bike or car. It is about three kilometres away, and it includes a climb on your way back. It will take you at least an hour to visit the waterfall. The whole route number 5 will take you more than two hours, not including a detour to the Roški waterfall.

More ambitious cyclists can opt for the MTB Route 2, which is longer and has more climbs. It is 34.4 kilometres long and has 732 meters of climbing. Longer and more difficult parts demand more time and more serious planning. You should also keep in mind that in the park you must respect the rules – from protecting the environment to taking care of other traffic participants, especially hikers. You should ride your bikes only on marked tracks or roads.

Of course, it is best to ride in sunny weather, and there is no lack of it here. The national park area has about 2,500 sunny hours a year. The park hopes that the bike routes will attract guests to visit other parts of the park towards the middle and upper reaches of Krka and move visitors away from the popular Skradinski Buk.

They also plan to construct one of the largest suspension bridges in the world that will connect the two banks of Krka. When it is built, the bridge over the Krka canyon will connect two fortresses, Trošenj and Nečven, and the broader areas of Promine and Kistanje.

Translated from tportal.hr (written by Dražen Breitenfeld).

More news on the Krka national park can be found in the Lifestyle section.

For a limited time period, a single ticket costs 50 kuna and 20 kuna for children.

ZAGREB, July 8, 2018 - In the last six years, Croatia's 11 nature parks and eight national parks registered 17.4 million visitors, and in 2017 alone there were four million tourists in those destinations, it was said at a conference on Croatia's protected natural areas and tourism held in Zagreb.

This is the first case of lynx rescue in Croatia that ended with the animal successfully returned to the wild. Meet Martin the lynx on May 17, 2018

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