Kornati National Park

The Kornati Archipelago in Croatia: a dream for modern robinsons

There are 1185 islands in Croatia, and 147 of them belong to Kornati archipelago. The area of the largest and least touched by civilization island Kornat is 32 sq. kilometers. The smallest island of the archipelago is the size of a closet - only 4 square meters! In fact, each of these rocky, treeless and mostly uninhabited islands individually is not that remarkable. But all together, clustered together, they are an exotic and exquisitely beautiful sight.

The white islets protruding from the sea like to be compared with pearls scattered on the blue velvet. They touched by even the ironic Bernard Shaw, who, after visiting to the archipelago, said: "On the last day of Creation, God wanted to crown his work, and out of tears, stars, and blowing winds he created Kornati."

The archipelago stretches along the coast of Northern Dalmatia. The islands are so densely grouped that the straits between them seem like narrow labyrinths. Some islets with rounded outlines resemble the backs of animals that have gone underwater, high towering rocks like sinking ships, cliffs with a hundred-meter steep walls rising directly out of the sea, like crowns, in Croatian they are called "Corona".

Dozens of tourist boats pass by the islands every day. Passengers are snapping their cameras every now and then: it's beautiful! But in order to fully feel the charm of the Kornati archipelago, you have to turn into a robinson and spend a couple of days on the islands. It is not so easy: in 1980, 89 islands of the archipelago were included in the Kornati National Park, and the restrictions for visitors here are no less than in the Plitvice Lakes.

There are no hotels on the islands, the piers, guest houses and restaurants (mostly fish) are concentrated in a few large bays. Groceries are delivered to the Robinsonians every some days by boat. It is worth adding that there is no electricity on the islands (it is replaced by gas and solar panels) and fresh water, except for rainwater, which is stored in tanks. Denial of the benefits of civilization is compensated by many interesting activities: sailing and boating, diving, visiting karst caves and archaeological sites, climbing peaks, which offer particularly spectacular views of the archipelago, swimming in secluded bays.

However, the seclusion of the "modern Robinsons" is illusory: rangers scurry around the national park in boats, charging guests literally for every step and vigilantly observing order. Climbing the steep cliffs is forbidden, and you can dive and swim only in strictly limited areas. When diving, you should not touch the seabed, catch fish, collect shells, pluck plants. For underwater photography must obtain a license. However, visitors to Kornati National Park are unlikely to grumble about the fees and bans - it's not a high price to pay for keeping the archipelago's islands the same as they were many hundreds of years ago.