The Adriatic lakes are the perfect escape plan, with a combination of nautical routes and visits to these examples of natural perfection that leave no one indifferent
Plan your road trip and visit these five Adriatic lakes
Sopot Waterfall
The huge pit’s arcs are a strange creation made by water shaping limestone through millennia, and it is situated between Labin and Pazin, more precisely in the village of Floričići. The Sopot Waterfall is surprising due to its unusual fitting into the landscape, which is a mixture of flysch terrain and deciduous woods, and the terrain next to the waterfall is rocky, reminiscent of the seaside.
The waterfall is about 30 m tall, and at its base there is a green lake that used to be inhabited by fish, but nowadays it’s mostly frogs. Most visitors usually decide to see it from the top, but it is possible to get down to the base, even though the trail is a bit dangerous.
Dragon’s Eye Lake
The unique hydrogeomorphic phenomenon of the eastern Adriatic, not far from the Frapa Marina, covers an area of about 10,000 square meters, with a maximum measured depth of fifteen meters. Surrounded by sheer cliffs whose average height is between four and twenty-four meters, the lake has no visible surface connection with the surrounding sea, but lake and sea water both pass through cracks and channels in the porous limestone.
There is an interesting scientific explanation as to why the lake ‘boils’. A no-oxygen environment is created, which sometimes leads to living organisms in the lake dying. This has happened several times over recent years, but the organisms are growing more and more resilient and have gotten used to living in these unusual circumstances. Don’t worry. The lake is perfectly safe for swimming, especially because of its warm temperatures.
Glavaševo Source
The longest Dalmatian river Cetina starts its 105 km long journey to the sea at the foot of Dinara where it springs from several sources. The largest among them is the Glavaševo Source, located in the heart of the Dalmatian karst, one hundred meters below the steep cliffs, reflecting the peaks of Dinara in its clear waters.
The beautiful blue-green lake hides a multitude of tunnels and caverns, explored to a depth of 130 m, while its exact depth is still unknown. Not far from the source are the remains of one of the oldest Croatian churches – the Church of Holy Salvation. It was built in the 9th century and is one of the most valuable monuments of Croatian and Western European sacral architecture. Next to there is a cemetery with stećci dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
Torak Lake
When you go to the vantage point in the village of Goriš in Šibenik-Knin County and see Torak, you won’t remain indifferent to this masterpiece of nature. This karst spring will leave you in awe of its beauty precisely because of its unusual position in the confluence of two rivers and the characteristic flora of meadows and shrubs that surround it.
The circular lake, i.e. a karst pit is 150 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep, and the spring itself is located at the bottom of the lake. Although it technically is a spring, it looks more like a lake due to its round shape and so it is also called a spring lake.
Baćina Lakes
These freshwater lakes have been making their way to the Adriatic Sea for centuries. There are six connected lakes: Oćuša, Crniševo, Podgora, Sladinac, Šipak and Plitko and a separate one, Vrbnik. The lakes are small, but they are one of the most interesting phenomena in karst hydrography. They are the habitat of a large number of protected and even endemic species of plants and animals.
Surrounded by meadows and poplars, along small and easily approachable beaches there are rows of small beaches interchanged with picturesque groups of barley and other aquatic plants. The average temperature is 3°C warmer than the sea and you can swim, ride a boat in it and surf. Baćina lakes are part of the Natura 2000 network of nature protection areas, managed by the public institution ‘Priroda dubrovačko-neretvanska’.
Photos Ivo Pervan, Boris Kačan, TZ Istra, Denis Peroš/TZ Rogoznica, Dream Division Split/TZ Rogoznica, Dalmatia Explorer, Archives JU ‘NP Krka’ & Goran Šafarek
