In the central part of croatian Adriatic Sea, about 15 Nm to the west from Sibenik town, 7 Nm to the southwest from Murter, or 15 Nm to the south from Zadar town, there is amazing group of islands, islets and reefs (about 150 in total) named Kornati archipelago. Beauty and singularity of the archipelago moved authorities in 1980 to proclaim a bigger part of that area national park. Since then certain modifications of its borders were made, so that nowadays Kornati National Park occupies the area of about 220 km2 (54.000 acres). There are 89 islands, islets and reefs within the area of Kornati National Park, what makes it the most indented group of islands in the Mediterranean. The land part of Kornati National Park covers less than 1/4 of its total area, but the values of its landscapes, the "crowns" (cliffs) on the islands facing the open sea, and interesting relief structures, make this part of Kornati National Park unique. Besides, the Kornati submarine area, whose biocenosis are considered to be the richest in the Adriatic Sea, and also the magnificent geomorphology of the sea bed attracts divers from all over Europe to come and enjoy in unforgettable submarine adventures.

The park can be reached by any sea-going vessel, either your own boat or using the transport service of some local boatman or touristic agency in Murter or some other place on the Adriatic coast. Information about boatmen and tourist agencies which have permission for doing business within the park area, can be obtained in Kornati National Park Office. in Murter.
Location of the park is seven nautical miles from Murter and approximately 15 nautical miles from Sibenik or Zadar (North Dalmatia).

Cruising, sailing, sport-recreational fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, swiming, hiking, wildlife watching.

Natural heritage in Kornati National Park

The reasons for proclamation of Kornati National Park were numerous. Before all, it should be mentioned that "Kornati" islands are the most indented group of islands in the Mediterranean. Numerous bigger or smaller islands, scattered about the sea, leave an impression of a sea labyrinth on the land or a land labyrinth in the sea.

VEGETATION

Vegetation gives a special charm to the islands. More than 80 % of the land surface of Kornati National Park is covered by scarce and low Mediterranean vegetation. Dominating species are great sage, feather grass and false brome grass. On some particular islands there are degraded holm-oak tree forest. Few rare pine trees only intensify the atmosphere of bareness. Local inhabitants use few small karst fields to cultivate olives, figs, grapes, cherries, etc.

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE

Geological structure of these islands is therefore completely uncovered. Every bed, fault or fold leaves a deep trace in the memory of every visitor. Lithologically, the Kornati islands are almost completely made up of carbonate rocks, predominantly of limestone (dolomite occurs only occasionally). Thin patches of res soil, made up by gradual wearing of surrounding carbonate rocks, can be found only in the few small karst fields. One of the basic phenomena of Kornati National Park are impressive "crowns" (as local inhabitants name it) or steep slopes on the southwestern edges of the outer islands facing the open sea. In the literature related to Kornati National Park, these steep slopes are often mistermed as "cliffs". The height of these "crowns" goes more than 80 meters up from sea level, since its submarine part goes almost as much down into the sea depth. The "crowns" are the result of tectonic movements along big fault zone stretching from Istria to middalmatian islands.

MARINE WORLD

The magnificent and diverse submarine plant and animal life surrounding these "crowns" and of course the rest of sea area of Kornati National Park is also one of the basic phenomena of this national park. Numerous holes, clefts, vaults, caves and submarine meadows offer shelter to such a variety of sea organisms.

The land area of the park is rather poor in animal species. Beside some species of butterflies, centipedes, spiders, scorpions and snails, we can also find frogs, lizards, snakes, pond-terrapins, bats, rats, mice, hares and voles. There is also the only carnivore in the land area of Kornati National Park - stone marten. The most frequent bird species in this area are sea shags and gulls, but occasionaly the lanner and kestrel visit these islands. From time to time we can also see the raven, crow, house sparrow, crested lark, european blackbird, wren, eagle owl, swift, the alpine swift, rock dove, common tern, etc.