Nin and Krka Falls – Opposites

On Saturday, we drove north to Nin and on Sunday south to the much anticipated, highly touted Krka Falls.

The center of Nin is an island, with the gleaming white streets that I have to expect in Croatia.  First stop was to the House of Salt,  to buy the Flower of Salt, Fleur de Sel, which, as it has been for 1500 years, is harvested by hand from the top 1-2 mm of the surface and contains 5% micronutrients versus  .9% in the regular salt.  It’s kind of funny for someone from the salt mine town of Goderich to visit and buy from a salt flat!

In a very short wander through the town, the sights tell the history.  Settled first 10,000 years ago, it became an important seaport during Roman times, with the remains of the Roman Temple near the center of town. When the  Croats arrived in the 7th century, Nin became their first political center and royal town, where seven Croatian kings were crowned.

The Church of Saint Anselm was the cathedral during the time of the Croatian kings.  It was first built in the 7th century and renovated several times until the 18th century

Ninth century Nin is represented by the Church of the Holy Cross, said to be the smallest cathedral in the world.  I wonder how many people stand in the middle and sing to experience the wonderful acoustics?

 

In the 10th century, the Croatian bishop Grgur Ninski advocated using the Croatian language instead of Latin in church services.  The statue of him in the courtyard of the Church of Saint Anselm was donated to the town by Croatian sculptor  Ivan Meštrović. I forgot to touch his toe for good luck, but I expect it anyway!

Jump ahead to current times, cafes and restaurants line the streets, and almost visible from the Grgur Ninski statue is a small shop selling local olive oil and other Croatian food products.

I would highly recommend a visit to Nin – it is a jewel.

Krka Falls is, of course, timeless nature.  But where Nin was easy, accessible and self-explanatory, Krka Falls required more preparation on my part and less expectation.  I thought that it would be like Plitvice Lakes, where a map and explanation would be provided upon entry.  But it wasn’t and since I hadn’t properly

prepared, I missed a lot!  Had I done my homework, the 200 kuna ($40 CDN) entry fee might have been worth what I had seen.  But not knowing enough, I only saw the lower and last section of the falls, shown in the photo.  |I missed six sections!  So when I thought, “that can’t be all there is,” I was right!

There are two ways to get to Krka Falls.  One is by way of Lazovac, where there is a parking lot and then walking a kilometer, and the other is to go to the town of Krka and taking the 20-minute ferry.  Each costs 200 kunas, which at the time of writing is about $40 Canadian.  Parking costs 50 kunas at either place. The ferry departs the town on the hour, every hour, and returns on the half-hour, every hour.

Minimum times at the falls is 1.5 hours because there is no way to get off, see the falls and catch the return back in 10 minutes.

I recommend going before October 1, swimming is not allowed after that and making a whole day of it. Take a picnic lunch, hike around, swim in the area by the falls.  There are also cafes, ice cream stands and vendors selling gifts, olive oil, etc.

I did the ferry route thinking that I might as well have a boat ride, but knowing what I know now, I think that I would do the walking route and be sure to be see everything.  I would also download the pdf from the Krka National Park website.

So based on my experience, I would highly recommend Nin, and I guess I would say, do your homework before Krka and spend time there.  Also, go in the morning before the crowds!