Why to choose the region of Zadar ?

Dalmatia : Zadar

The northern part of the Dalmatian coast with its three millennium old and largest urban centre in the city of Zadar , is also called the "door to the national parks" because its unique geographical position literally opens to five national parks that can all be reached from it on a one-day trip. Paklenica, the Krka Falls , the Plitvica Lakes , North Velebit and the Kornati islands each for itself offer beauties that will leave you breathless. The canyons of the Grand and Small Paklenica, with its series of waterfalls and cliffs, ideal for free climbing, are a challenge to all nature lovers and hikers. Hidden among the flora and fauna of this area are numerous indigenous species like the griffon vulture for which this is one of two habitats in Croatia, but also a series of caves and fascinating Karst phenomenon, just as it is across most of this chain of mountain peaks, the North Velebit National Park, a mountain range that UNESCO has declared a World Biosphere Reserve.

Natural heritage

The northern part of the Dalmatian coast with its three millennium old and largest urban centre in the city of Zadar , is also called the "door to the national parks" because its unique geographical position literally opens to five national parks that can all be reached from it on a one-day trip. Paklenica, the Krka Falls , the Plitvica Lakes , North Velebit and the Kornati islands each for itself offer beauties that will leave you breathless. The canyons of the Grand and Small Paklenica, with its series of waterfalls and cliffs, ideal for free climbing, are a challenge to all nature lovers and hikers. Hidden among the flora and fauna of this area are numerous indigenous species like the griffon vulture for which this is one of two habitats in Croatia, but also a series of caves and fascinating Karst phenomenon, just as it is across most of this chain of mountain peaks, the North Velebit National Park, a mountain range that UNESCO has declared a World Biosphere Reserve.

The untouched nature of this protected area, the plant and animal species, caves and pot-holes of this forest-covered mountain and its foothills are in complete contrast with the view that shoots out from its heights to the lacework of islands that are the Kornati National Park . There are a total of 365 islands in the Zadar archipelago, with 150 smaller and larger islands and rocks making up the Kornati National Park, mostly barren rocks, and a sea of a unique blue and vertical cliff faces hanging above the sea falling steeply, often hundreds of metres, into its depths. A true nautical paradise chock full of bays, gentle coves and hidden beaches, it is an place not to be missed for every nautical tourist visiting the Adriatic, and also of modern-day Robinson Crusoe's in search of isolation and a chance to enjoy a pristine shoreline and a crystal clean sea.
The forested part of the Kornati islands is the Telašćica Nature Park , one of the Adriatic 's safest natural harbours for boaters, but also the home of another natural phenomenon, the Mir salt lake, whose water is warmer than that of the surrounding sea! The Mediterranean vegetation of these gentle Karst fields are home to mouflon, and also a place for rest and hunting since Roman times.
Lake Vransko and its ornithological reserve is the largest natural lake in Croatia . It is located in the Zadar region and is in some parts only 800 metres from the sea. Here also is the only habitat of herons in coastal Croatia , with the lake having a multitude of fresh water species of fish and, on account of the waters mixing with that of the sea, eels. Visitors to the reserve can get a fishing licence for Lake Vransko and hire a rowboat.
This landscape, from mountain height to island valley offers, like few other places, an opportunity for active holidaying, organised by an agency or by yourself, along the many sea-side and mountain biking trails, trekking, paragliding, free-climbing or delving into speleology.  

Cultural heritage  

Culture and history have, just like nature, been kind to the Zadar tourist region that has been populated now for three millennia. In the close vicinity of Zadar is the city of Nin , Croatia 's oldest royal seat and the place in which the Croatian state was born. Zadar became the capital of Dalmatia as far back as the 7th century and held on to the title until 1918. The stone paved streets of the Peninsula, the centre of the city's ancient core, are graced by the 9th century stone church of St. Donat, the largest researched Roman forum on this side of the Adriatic, the church of St. Stošija (St. Anastasia) from the 13th century and the 12th century church of St. Krševan. The spirit and rhythm of this thousand year old city are best felt in walking the Kalelarga, a wide street that every visitor to this city must see. The city is now living its second youth as a place with the largest investments into municipal infrastructure and construction.

One of these edifices, unique in all of Europe, is the "Sea Organ", a miracle of architecture built in the submersed part of the city's waterfront where the maritime currents and the waves, in passing through these underwater musical tubes, create an unbelievable sound, called the music of the sea, that fills the wide area of the seaside promenade and that has in less than a year become a not-to-be-missed gathering spot for thousands of curious visitors from Zadar and its environs. Famed director Alfred Hitchcock says that the most beautiful sunset in the world can be seen from precisely this spot on the Zadar quay. That was how he described it after his visit to Zadar, a visit he remembered to the end of his life by the meeting of the sinking sun and the sea.
The Zadar region has for 12 centuries been home, in the small city of Nin , 18 km from Zadar itself, to the old Church of the Holy Cross, the smallest cathedral in the world. Only 36 paces in length, the small church in Nin was built in keeping with the suns position throughout the year, so that it serves as a clock and a calendar, but also as a place for prayer. (HTZ)