February 10th, 2022 - The new gateway to Krka National Park will relieve the pressure on two other entrances used by 95% of visitors, and make it easier for tourists in Šibenik to visit the national park
A new entrance to Krka National Park is about to be opened in Šibenik, reports Morski.hr. The Dalmatian town is set to become the sixth official gateway to the magnificent park, a natural karst phenomenon, along with Skradin, Lozovac, Roški Slap/Laškovica, Burnum/Puljane and Kistanje/Manastir Krka.
The overwhelming majority of visitors, about 95%, enter Krka National Park via Lozovac and Skradin entrances, the latter being the closest to the majestic Skradinski buk waterfall. Introducing an entrance in Šibenik is hoped to relieve the pressure on the two mentioned entrances, and distribute visitors evenly throughout all the sites in the park and at the reception centres.
The decision to introduce an official park entrance in Šibenik is a part of the Action plan for visitor management in the period 2019 - 2031, but a strategic project as well.
‘We were of the opinion that this high percentage [of visitors] needs to be more evenly distributed and that a possibility of opening a new entrance to Krka National Park in Šibenik needs to be considered. We proposed the idea of reception and transport of visitors in the city of Šibenik, who spend an average of three days staying in accommodation facilities in town and on islands of the Šibenik archipelago. We also had in mind the citizens of Šibenik to whom the Krka waterfalls are a synonym of the Park and their favourite destination. Naturally, we also thought of new visitors from the two neighbouring counties, who could choose the Šibenik entrance as a jumping off point for their visit to Krka National Park’, said Krka NP director Nella Slavica.
It’s believed that this new concept of visitor reception will help solidify the position of Šibenik on the tourist map and increase the number of visitors to the city, who will then go on to avail of other tourist services in town.
Šibenik Mayor Željko Burić brought up a few steps the City of Šibenik is planning to take to ensure the best possible outcome of their cooperation with NP Krka. ‘A necessary step in the implementation of this project is to introduce regular bus and boat services for visitors, as well as a commercial space for presentation of the Public Institution "Krka National Park" in Šibenik', said Burić.
