Skradinski Buk, Krka National Park

Skradinski buk is the last and largest of the Krka's great falls, the place where the river, after a long run through a limestone canyon in Dalmatia, tumbles down a staircase of travertine before settling into the calm estuary below Skradin. Within an area only about 400 metres long and 100 metres wide it breaks into seventeen separate falls, dropping about 48 metres in total from the first step to the last. The result is not a single curtain of water but a whole landscape of it: pools and chutes, green islands, white veils sliding over mossy ledges, and a broad final cascade spreading across the foot of the barrier. It is the seventh and final tufa barrier on the Krka and is described as the longest in Europe.

That stone is still growing. Mosses and algae in the fast water help the river's dissolved lime settle out as porous tufa, so the barriers themselves are living structures, built up over millennia and constantly reshaped by the current. The flow changes sharply with the seasons, from a thin summer lace to heavy winter water, so the falls look and sound different at every visit. A circular trail of about 1.9 km crosses the channels and loops around the falls, bringing visitors close to the water; a viewpoint above takes in the whole staircase at once.

The falls have a remarkable industrial history too. On 28 August 1895 the Jaruga hydroelectric plant at Skradinski buk began to generate power, one of the first complete alternating-current systems of production, transmission and use anywhere, and that same night the street lamps of Šibenik lit up with its electricity. Its remains can still be seen at the site. Along the path, nineteenth-century watermills have been restored, and in them the park shows how grain was ground, cloth washed and pounded and floor mats woven, a reminder that the Krka's energy was put to work long before its beauty drew visitors.

Getting there

Skradinski buk lies in Krka National Park, about 10 km from Šibenik. It is reached either from the Lozovac entrance, from which park shuttle buses run down to the falls in season, or from the little town of Skradin, where the park boat travels up the river to the foot of the falls. Split Airport (SPU) is about 40 km away in a straight line.