Go Visit Croatia ! You ask yourself, why should you do it?
See what people say about Croatia:
Visiting Croatia by Jeanne Oliver
Why Should People Visit Croatia ? by Martina Grubisic
Travel to Croatia: Cheap Flights, Ferries, and Buses to Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, and Istria by
Jeanne Oliver
Croatia's World Heritage Sites By Owen Lipsett
Real Estate Property Investment Series: Focus Croatia 2007 by Rhiannon Williamson
Although Croatia is not a large country, it is a land that is Mediterranean, Central
European, mountainous and flat, coastal and continental. It can therefore be safely said
that Croatia is characterized by a diversity and wealth of nature seen in much larger
European countries; that is to say, within a relatively small area are landscapes that
otherwise one would have to seek in widely spaced parts of Europe, and indeed the
world. Which is why Croatia ranks as one of the top five European countries with regard
to biodiversity, with some parts being among the world's richest such areas.
Thus, in Croatia we have a richly indented wooded shore line, with numerous islands, as
in the Southern Seas, preserved old Mediterranean towns with stone-built houses and
narrow streets, as in Italy, but also green coastal meadows with dry stone walls that
seem to have been transposed from Ireland. The mountainous areas abound in wide
expanses of woods and forests, as in Scandinavia, romantic lakes, rushing rivers and
picturesque settlements, as in the Alps, as well as harsh and barren karstic landscapes
with deep gorges and canyons, like those in the "Wild West" of the USA. In the wide
plains of lowland Croatia there still exist preserved wetland areas otherwise found only in
the easternmost parts of Europe, in Russia or Ukraine, while the country's mellow, gently
undulating areas are decked with vineyards, medieval castles, burgs and fortresses the
likes of which are seen in Germany and Austria.
The most treasured parts of Croatia's natural heritage comprise 447 different protected
areas covering a total of 5,178 km2, i.e. about 10% of Croatia's land area.The most
important among those areas are eight national parks (Plitvice Lakes, the River Krka, the
Kornati Archipelago, the island of Mljet, Northern Velebit, Paklenica and Risnjak); eleven
nature parks (Kopacki rit, Papuk, Lonjsko polje, Medvednica, Zumberak, Samoborsko
gorje, Ucka, Velebit, Telascica, Vransko jezero, Biokovo and the Lastovo islands); and
two strict regime reserves (Bijele and Samarske stijene, on Bjelolasica, and Rozanski
and Hajducki kukovi, on Velebit).
In addition to national parks, nature parks and strict regime reserves, Croatia has another
426 different smaller areas and objects under protection. Of those, 78 are special
reserves (botanical, wooded/forested, geomorphological, hydrological, ichtyological,
ornithological, maritime and zoological); 38 are park woods; 71 are classified as
outstanding landscapes, and 104 are natural monuments (geological, geomorphological,
palaeontological, and rare examples of trees). Special protection has also been extended
to more than 135 monuments of park architecture: arboretums, botanical gardens, parks,
individual trees and groups of trees. A total of 846 animal species have been placed under
protection (including 339 birds and 74 mammals), 809 plants species and 314 types of
mushroom.
The three main natural entities of Croatia: flat, mountainous and coastal, are
fundamentally different in their main characteristics. The largest of these areas comprises
fertile and well populated lowland Croatia, which occupies the south-western edge of the
vast Pannonian Plain. Its main natural characteristics are the centuries-old oak forests of
the diluvial plains, numerous rivers, their original courses preserved, and an abundant
plant and animal world on land, in the waters and in the air. However, although located
within Panonian Plain this region is not always uniformly flat. Rising along the horizons of
the fields and meadows are the wine growing hill slopes and wooded elevations of
Pannonia which, like islands, rise above the sea of wheat.
In contrast to the lowlands, mountainous Croatia is small and very sparsely populated,
which explains why it has been so well preserved in its original state. Its dense forests of
beech, pine and spruce are the domain of bears, wolves and lynx, while its sparkling
clean and clear rivers are ruled by otters and trout. The heights reached by Croatian
mountains may not be those of Alps, but the shapes of white limestone are often such
that they can be an inspiration to even the most imaginative of sculptors, this thanks to
the wide range of karstic phenomena within the limestone composition of rocks so
specifically typical of Croatia.
The wealth of karstic forms: fissures, sink holes found on the surface continues through a
subterranean world of caves, caverns, galleries, chasms and other distinctive relief forms
not easily found elsewhere in Europe. The significance of the Croatian karst is best seen
in the fact that in the technical literature for the majority of these forms, the names of
which are difficult to accurately translate, the original Croatian terms are used, for
instance: "uvala", "polje", "hum".
And finally, the jewel in the crown to all that attracts most visitors to Croatia, her littoral.
The Croatian coastline has, alongside the Greek, the largest number of islands and is the
most indented in the Mediterranean. Length of the coastline extends to 1,778 km and,
together with the shores of the 1,185 islands, isles, crags and reefs, to an amazing 5,835
km. The number of coves, bays, nooks and crannies, and hidden intricate details along
those shores is difficult to comprehend, and all are washed by crystal clear seas and
boasting a wide variety of faces: from craggy and harsh rock-bound vegetation. Here, all
our visitors, particularly those on their boats or yachts, are able to discover their very own
little corner. So now let us set off and get to know the natural beauties of Croatia, and
help us to make sure that they remain as they are today for future generations to enjoy.
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