The best of the Adriatic Sea #1: National Park Kornati

"THE CROWNS"

Most of the outer islands feature the so called Kornati crowns (cliffs), which are facing the open sea. The longest crown located above sea level is on the island of Mana (1350m), and the highest one is on the island of Klobučar (82m). The crowms, of course, also extend under the sea. The deepest one is on the island of Piškera (over 90 m deep).

THE MAGAZINOVA ŠKRILA ON THE ISLAND OF KORNAT 

The Magazinova škrila, also called the Plate (Ploča), is the largest sedimentary limestone plain in the Adriatic. It is located near Metlina, the highest point on the island of Kornat (237m above sea level).

VIEWING POINTS  

Metlina on the island of Kornat is the highest point (237m). From it there is a great view of the islands and islets surrounding it, the Tureta Bytantine fortress, the Church of our Lady of tarac, and the fields of Tarac, Željkovci and Trtuša. The viewing points called Vrh Opata and Litnji vrh the island of Vela Smokvica views over the Murter Sea stretching towards the northeast, and the islands on the other side, whereas from the pointcalled Otočevac on the island of Piškera you get a panoramicview over almost the whole Kornati Archipelago.

ILLYRIAN RUINS  

Small rectangular dwellings, positioned individually or in groups (e.g. The ones below Pedinka, above Željkovci, Pod selo near Trtuša, and Grbe on the island of Žut), forts (Ščitkat, Staržišče, Tureta, Grba) and barrows (tumuli; almost on all the hills on the islands of Kornati and Žut) testify to the fact that the islands were highly populated in prehistoric times.

THE TURETA FORTRESS  

The Tureta fortress, the most prominent piece of cultural heritage on the Kornati Islands, dates from the times of the Byzantine Empire (late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages; it was probably built in the 6^th century). It was likely used for military purposes to safeguard and control navigation. At the foot of the fortress, near the coast, there are the ruins of the three-nave Church of St.Mary. On that site, a modest religious building, the Church of Our Lady of Tarac, was erected in the rural Late Romanesque style. Masses are still held in the small church today, and its importance has outgrown the exclusively religious use, making it one of the tourist attractions of this area. 

THE VENETIAN CASTLE, PIŠKERA, THE SMALL CHURCH ON THE PIŠKERA 

On the small island of  Vela Panitula, a Venetian castle was built in the early 16^th century, which primarily served as a place where taxes on fish were collected from the Kornati fishermen. In its immediate vicinity, on the island Piškera (Jadra), fishermen erected a village with 36 houses and magazines eight piers and a movable bridge between Vela Panitula and Piškera. A small one-nave church dispaying elements of Gothic architecture was constructed as part of the settlement and was dedicated in 1560. By all accounts, with the fall of the Venetian Republic in the lase 18^th century, the caste and the whole settlement of piškera were most likely quickly abandoned.

SAILING IN THE KORNATI LABYRINTH 

Expect in the strict protection areas, sailing is allowed in the entire area of Kornati National Park. Anchoring and overnight stay permitted in the bays Stiniva, Statival, Tomasovac – Suha punta, Šipnate, Lučica, Kravljačica, Strižnja, Vrulje, Gujak, Opat, Smokvica, Ravni Žakan, Lavsa, Piškera – Vela Panitula and in Bay Anica on Levrnaka, Podbižanj, and Koromašna.

DIVING AND SNORKELING  

In Kornati Nationa Park there are nine zones in which diving is allowed: Kornat (Opat – Tanka Prisliga), Samograd, Oključ, Mala Panitula, Vela Panitula, Rašip, Kasela, Mana and Borovnik. No permission is needed to snorkel or  swim, but snorkelling and swimming are allowed only within the swimming areas – up to 50 m from the shoreline (expect in the strict protection zones).

HIKING  

Two educational trails are in operation in Kornati National Park – Trtuša and Vela Panitula – while the third one, Kravljačica, is currently being reconstucted. 

An incredible combination of nature and humans, who have lived on the "inhospitable" Kornati Islands for several thousand years, is reflected, among other things, in the ever modest, albeit impressive, structures (ports, dry-stone houses, dry-stone walls, olive groves, small piers, the fortress, the castle, the small churches, the saltern, ruins, etc.), which all add a new value to this area.

You can get to Kornati Nationa Park invidually on your own or chartered boat. For individual visits on your own boat or a rented one, it is possible to buy a ticket at the reception desk of Kornati National Park in Murter, bus also from receptionists at mobile reception desks in the entire National Park area. The receptionists working at mobile reception desks patrol a particular area of the Park in small fast boats, providing reception services to visitors. Ouside the Park, tickets can be purchased in the online shop, trough the application, at the reception desks of the nearby marinas, and at charter companies and travel agencies.

Source: ACI NO.1 2019 / Issue 2 / Year 2

Photo: NP Kornati