Don’t go chasing waterfalls — unless they’re at Krka National Park (cheesy opening line, I know, sorry).
This epic Croatian park is famous for its 7 waterfalls and its ancient Roman catacombs. You’ll also find traditional watermills, an island with a 15th-century monastery, and plenty of scenic nature trails. Read on for a guide to all of the best things to do and see at Krka National Park!
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General information
- Location: Outside of Šibenik, Croatia
- Price: Varies depending on the month. From 30 kn ($4.71 USD) in the winter to 200 kn ($31.40 USD) in the summer
- Activities: Hiking, boating, swimming (in designated areas)
How to get to Krka National Park
A visit to Krka National Park can be done easily as a day trip from Zadar or Split. Public transportation is a simple and inexpensive way to get to the park. From Split, public buses run daily from the airport and the bus station — you’ll want to catch the one headed toward Šibenik. From there, a bus to Skradin will bring you right outside the park.
Driving times from:
- Zadar: 55 minutes
- Split: 1 hour
- Dubrovnik: 3 hours 20 minutes (crosses the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina)
If you’re looking to get a local perspective, several different companies run guided tours with transportation and entry tickets included. Otherwise, driving to the park yourself is pretty straightforward.
Skradinski Buk
Skradinski Buk (buk meaning cascade in Croatian) is Krka’s most popular attraction. The area includes a series of waterfalls, lakes, and caves that developed from calcium carbonate, or limestone, that then became travertine. The travertine that creates these natural phenomena grows at a rate of 0.4 inches (1 cm) a year!
The beginning of the Skradinski Buk trail is 0.5 mi (875 m) away from the Lozovac park entrance. To get there, you can either walk down a rocky trail along the side of the road or take the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus is included in your park ticket and runs every few minutes.
The trail
At the beginning of the walk, a raised boardwalk snakes through a forested area with small ponds of water in every direction. This area kind of reminded me of a swamp — but a very clean, fresh, and not at all murky one! The water here is strikingly blue, clear, and filled with tiny expectant fish.
One thing I will say about the first section of this walk was that it was very crowded. We walked down the boardwalk at a snail’s pace because there was no way to get around the crowd. If you have the option, I’d recommend arriving very early to avoid the influx of tourists at midday. As the park’s pricing suggests, summer is the busiest time of year. Shoulder season (April, May, and October) would be a good time to visit for fewer crowds and milder weather.
The waterfalls
Once you make it out of the forest, the boardwalk takes you to a larger, shaded area where you can see some very cool caves built into the hills. There are also some smaller rapids and streams with places nearby to sit and relax. Following the boardwalk further, you make it to the largest section of the lake with the iconic Skradinski waterfalls. I found this area incredibly scenic, mostly due to the clear and colorful blue-green water.
All of the water in this area comes from the Krka and Čikola Rivers. The Skradinski waterfall complex is comprised of 17 steps at varying heights over a length of 0.5 mi (800 m). That leaves a lot of mini falls and waterways to explore!
Note: Swimming used to be allowed at Skradinski Buk but isn’t anymore. We did see some people in the water, but I definitely don’t recommend or condone that — the rules are in place to save this beautiful ecosystem for future generations.
(If you want to visit a swimmable waterfall, check out the nearby Kravice waterfalls in Bosnia!)
Past the main waterfalls, there are several different trails you can take around the area. Some will bring you to higher vantage points to see the waterfalls from different angles. Others will take you down to see the historic water and rolling mills that were used to harness the river’s energy.
The entire Skradinski Buk trail is about 1.2 mi (1900 m) long. We spent about 1 hour 45 minutes exploring the whole area.
Other attractions at Krka National Park
- Utvrda Ključica: Ruins of an ancient fortress
- Kamičak Castle: Ruins of a castle on a hill
- Roški Slap: Waterfall with a dramatic rocky backdrop
- Krka Monastery: 14th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery with Roman catacombs
- Trošenj grad: Ruins of an ancient fortress on a hill
- Manojlovački slapovi: Majestic waterfalls that you can see from above
Book a tour to Krka National Park
Thanks for reading this guide to Krka National Park! For more epic waterfalls, check out my guide to the best waterfalls in the Catlins region of New Zealand.
xoxo Niki
