The Islands of Croatia. Rudolf Abraham
as well as the Loggerhead turtle, and there have been sightings of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal in Croatian waters.
The Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation (www.blue-world.org) runs several scientific, educational and conservation projects from the islands of Lošinj and Vis, including the Adriatic Dolphin Project. The Marine Education Centre at Veli Lošinj (opened in 2003) was the first marine education centre on the eastern Adriatic coast, and the Cres-Lošinj Marine Protected Area was the first such area for dolphins in the entire Mediterranean. They also run an ‘adopt a dolphin’ programme.
Plants
Croatia has over 8800 recorded plant species and some 4500 recorded species of fungi (the actual number in both cases is likely to be significantly higher), making it one of the richest areas of plant life in Europe in terms of species in relation to land area. The number of species on the Adriatic islands is particularly high (for example, there are 810 species of plant on the small island of Lastovo alone, between 700 and 800 on the Kornati islands, and around 1300 on the island of Cres), and the islands also have one of the highest proportions of endemic species in the country.
Wild sage on the trail to Kom, with Lastovo in the distance, Korčula (Walk 27)
Much of the vegetation on the islands consists of maquis – dense hardy shrubs and bushes, including the Strawberry tree (easily recognisable by its distinctive red, strawberry-like berries), Myrtle, and Prickly and Phoenecian juniper – and low evergreen trees, most characteristically Holm oak (also known as Holly oak) and Downy oak, interspersed with Oriental hornbeam, Manna ash and stands of Aleppo pine. Wild herbs such as rosemary, lavender, bay, sage and thyme grow in profusion, along with fennel and wild asparagus, augmented by olive trees (there are several different varieties), carob and fig.
Some of the islands have more extensive areas of forest – the most heavily forested islands on the Croatian Adriatic are Mljet, the western half of Rab, and Korčula. At the opposite extreme are islands such as the appropriately named Goli otok (meaning ‘naked island’) and Pag, where vegetation is extremely sparse. Rab is a good illustration of these extreme contrasts – the lower western half of the island, and in particular the Kalifron peninsula, is incredibly lush and green, while the higher eastern side of the island, and in particular the steep slopes above the east coast, is rocky and largely bare. The little that does grow there is bent double by the harsh northeast wind, the bura.
Alpine sea holly, near the summit of Obzova, Krk (Walk 1)
Plants on the islands include Alpine sea holly, Dubrovnik knapweed (also known as Star thistle, endemic to Croatia), Illyrian cottonthistle, Immortelle, Spanish broom, Spiny spurge, the so-called ‘Curry plant’, several species of bellflower and numerous species of orchid.
National parks and nature parks
Croatia has eight national parks (nacionalni park, usually abbreviated to the prefix NP) and 11 nature parks (park prirode, or PP). The islands are home to five of these:
Kornati Islands National Park (NP Kornati, www.kornati.hr)
Mljet National Park (NP Mljet, www.np-mljet.hr)
Brijuni Islands National Park (NP Brijuni, www.brijuni.hr)
Telašćica Nature Park (PP Telašćica, www.telascica.hr)
Lastovo Islands Nature Park (PP Lastovsko otočje, www.pp-lastovo.hr)
There are also many reserves and specially protected areas, including Dundo Forest Reserve (Kalifron peninsula, Rab), Koćje (Korčula), Veliko blato (Pag), Kuntrep Ornithological Reserve (Krk), and the Kruna and Podokladi Ornithological Reserves (Cres).
The lush green of Mljet National Park (Walk 29)
An entry fee is payable on entering a national park (and some nature parks), and you should hang on to your ticket as you may be asked to show it later. Camping is prohibited in national parks and nature parks.
While the wildlife and geological features of a natural/nature park are undoubtedly of exceptional interest and beauty, this does not necessarily in itself make an island the best destination for hiking. In fact, some of the best hikes are on islands that are not designated national/nature parks.
Many of Croatia’s other national/nature parks are on, or easily accessible from, the mainland coast, and you can easily combine your stay on the islands with a visit to one or more of these: Krka, Paklenica, Plitvička jezera, Risnjak and Sjeverni Velebit national parks, and Biokovo, Učka and Vransko jezero nature parks.
History
Evidence of the presence of Neolithic man is widespread on the islands of the Croatian Adriatic, where they hunted for game, fished in its waters, and sheltered in its many limestone caves.
The Croatian Apoxyomenos – an intact life-sized bronze Roman statue, discovered in waters near Lošinj
Settlements grew during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and from around 800BC the history of the eastern Adriatic becomes synonymous with the Illyrians, an Indo-European people, composed of numerous tribes scattered throughout the region from the Veneto to Albania. Among the most important of these tribes were the Liburni (famed pirates, who originally controlled the coast and islands from Istria to the River Krka), as well as the Delmatae, the Japodes and the Ardiaei. Traces of many of their hill forts still remain on the Adriatic islands, and a number of them have left their names in the region (‘Dalmatia’ from Delmatae; ‘Adriatic’ from Ardiaei).
Greek settlers arrived in the fourth century BC, establishing colonies on several of the islands including Korkyra meliana (Korčula), Issa (Vis) and Pharos (Hvar), as well as on the coast at Epidaurus (Cavtat), Tragurion (Trogir) and elsewhere.
Rome launched a series of campaigns across the Adriatic against the Illyrians, beginning in 229BC and leading to the establishment of the Roman province of Illyricum, with its capital at Salona on the edge of modern Split. The remains of Roman villas, palaces and other buildings are widespread on the coast and islands, including the incredibly well-preserved amphitheatre at Pula and the UNESCO-listed Diocletian’s Palace in Split.
Diocletian’s Palace, Split, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
After the fall of Rome in the fourth century AD the region witnessed a succession of invasions – Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths – until Byzantium gained control of the Croatian coast and islands, ushering in an a spell of relative peace and prosperity from the sixth century until the arrival of another horde, the Avars, at the beginning of the seventh century.
The Slavs arrived on the Adriatic some time in the seventh century, having crossed the Danube and gradually settled in the rest of Croatia over the preceding two centuries. Most of the Dalmatian coast and islands were ceded by Byzantium to the Franks in 812, although Byzantium regained its control of Dalmatia around half a century later, when it became one of a number of Byzantine ‘themes’, with its capital at Zadar.
The second half of the ninth century saw a gradual increase in the power and autonomy of local Croatian dukes, reflected in a move towards religious autonomy and the adoption of Glagolitic (the written form of Old Church