Jun 2024
Wild pearls - a rare, beautiful and valuable work of mother nature. This description perfectly fits the island of Dugi Otok in the Zadar archipelago - a real gem for nature lovers.
Jast is an island of contrasts, colorful places, lush vegetation, breathtaking rock walls, wonderful bays and beaches. Its length is 45 km (Dugi Otok = Long Island), and its width is from 1 to 4 km. The highest peak - Vela Straža - rises to 338m above sea level.
The island was inhabited already in the Stone Age, currently about 1,500 inhabitants live in 12 towns.
The location of local towns in natural bays proves that in the past these places were not connected by roads and access to them was only possible by boat from the sea. Today, you can get around Dugi Otok by car, because there is a regular ferry to the island (Zadar Gaženica - Brbinj line), and a comfortable road with beautiful panoramic views runs through the middle of it. However, the most convenient way to discover this place is by bike, scooter or motorbike, which allows you to maneuver better on narrow and unpaved roads among the wild nature.
Sailing, cycling, trekking, climbing, cave exploration, paint ball, diving, snorkeling, kayaking are just some of the outdoor activities that the island offers. It is worth visiting the archaeological sites - part of the coast is still unexplored, so it is not known what surprises are waiting to be discovered. In 2011, the remains of a human skeleton, estimated to be 11,000 years old (early Mesozoic), was found in the Vlakno cave and nicknamed "The Oldest Dalmatian Šime". It was a unique find in Dalmatia.
Dugi Otok hides many unusual places. I will tell you about a few of them and discover the rest for yourself.
Probably the most famous tourist point on the island is Telašćica Nature Park, located in its south-eastern part. This is definitely one of the most beautiful places in Croatia. It was inhabited already in the times of the Illyrians and then the Romans, but it received its current name in the Middle Ages as Tilagus, because it resembles three lakes connected together.
The park covers 70.5 km2, of which only 25.95 km2 is land and 44.55 km2 is sea, including 13 islands, islets and rocks emerging from the water. Its center is the Telašćica bay with the greatest depth of 67m - a natural, safe harbor for boats. Many cruise ships from Zadar and the surrounding area arrive here, but you can also get to the Park via the Dolac land entrance. Admission is paid, but it is worth the expense because a real natural feast awaits us.
The park's terrain is a mosaic: quiet, charming coves, huge, breathtaking rock walls, pine and oak forests, glades, vineyards, olive groves and rocky hills with Mediterranean vegetation, which includes over 400 species of plants, including many rare and endemic. In the sea we can meet about 250 species of plants and 300 species of animals, including beautiful red corals and carnivorous sponges.
Donkeys (about 14 of them) also found their home in Telaščica. Animals walk freely among visitors in the areas around Mir Bay and the salt lake of the same name, well known to everyone from the Park's advertising photographs. The lake is home to an endemic eel species called "caiman", and the mud from its bottom has healing properties.
Near the lake you can climb high rock walls falling vertically into the sea. They make a huge impression both when we stand on their top and when we sail by ship at their feet. The highest wall in the Park - Grapšćak - is 161 m high above the water surface, and the greatest depth "below the walls" reaches 85 m. This incredible wonder of nature was created as a result of tectonic movements pushing huge vertical rock fragments upwards and is now a nesting place for many birds, including falcons.
Photo: Rock walls in Telašćica Nature Park
Not far north of Telašćica is the main town of the island - Sali. It is worth stopping here, especially on the weekend preceding the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15), because that is when the famous Saljske užance takes place - a cultural and entertainment manifestation, which begins with the Friday Fisherman's Night with delicious fresh fish and seafood on the menu. Saturday and Sunday are reserved for a number of sports games, games and competitions, illuminations in the port, donkey races and a concert that you will not hear anywhere else - the so-called Donkey of music (Tovareća mužika).
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(by dugiotok.hr): The town of Sali
Sali boasts over a hundred years of fishing tradition, so every house had a horn that was used to give signals while fishing. The younger generation decided to use it as a musical instrument. It all started as a joke when in 1960 an old maid decided to marry a widower. Settling down late in life was not something to be proud of, so they tried to keep the wedding a secret. A group of young people found out about these plans and followed the matchmakers by blowing horns and making noise. To get rid of the uncomfortable guests, the bride and groom offered them drinks, and after returning to the village, the young people said that from now on they would give such concerts more often for their own pleasure. This is how Ośla music was created. The group that performs it today operates as an association and performs many events in the Zadar Voivodeship and other parts of Croatia.
It is worth mentioning that currently the Ośle orchestra plays not only on horns, but also on drums and antique irons carved with stones, and the musicians wear strictly defined costumes. The group has its own conductor-guide who directs its procession.
Saljske užances end with a strange and funny custom. A group of donkey musicians, blowing their horns, enter the sea in the port of Sala until the water reaches their throats.
Photo: Tovareća mužika - donkey music
Near the village you can go for a walk among the olive groves. One of them, the so-called Saljsko polje, has been declared a botanical reserve, and there are trees growing there that are up to 700 years old. This olive forest - as the locals call it - was most likely started by the Greeks, who in the past owned land and real estate in this area.
Let's now move further north, to the center of the island of Dugi Otok.
On the southwestern coast, on the opposite side from Brbinj, there is Brbišćica bay with a small charming beach. Surrounded by rocks and numerous caves, it is also called the Dugooto Jurassic Park because a lot of fossils have been found in the local sedimentary rocks. The bay and the nearby coast are very attractive to both snorkelers and deep-sea divers. You can get to the beach by boat, bike or even car. However, you must take into account that the road is unpaved and narrow and there are few parking spaces.
Photo (by journal.hr): Brbišćica Bay
Not far from the bay there is an interesting natural phenomenon with the intriguing name Zmajevo Oko, i.e. Dragon's Eye. It is a natural pool in the rock located on the seashore. This large, elliptical defect in the coastal rocks was created as a result of limestone erosion. The water here is very deep, crystal clear and sparkles with fabulous shades of blue. If you dare to dive, you will discover undersea passages, including one under the rock wall separating the pool from the open sea.
Photo (by journal.hr): Zmajevo Oko
However, the area around Brbišćica never ceases to surprise us. Near Zmajevog Oka there is also the Golubinka cave, which can be reached by swimming or kayaking. After passing through a narrow tunnel, you enter a more spacious chamber with a hole in the ceiling allowing sunlight to enter. The rays and moving water create a beautiful play of light, flashes and shadows inside the cave.
Photo (by journal.hr): Golubinka Cave
Although the most famous beach of Dugi Otok is Sharun, called the Croatian Meledives, for many it is the most beautiful beach on the island, and in all of Croatia there is the Veli Žal beach located on the south coast, in the uninhabited part of the island, facing the open sea. There is exceptional peace and quiet here, even in the high season "disturbed" only by the sound of waves and the cries of seagulls. Over a kilometer of coastline, pebbly and rocky in places, offers enough space for every beachgoer to have some privacy. In many places, the bottom is covered with fine sand and the crystal clear water shimmers with all shades of turquoise. The view of the sea reaching to the horizon, blending with the blue sky, is enchanting. And only one dot stands out in this idyllic landscape - the tiny, flat island of Mežanj. A paradise for the eye and soul is easily accessible, you can reach the parking lot via an asphalt road and from here it is a short walk to the beach.
Photo: Veli Žal
After visiting Velikom Žal, we move to the north of Dugi Otok, near the town of Veli Rat.
Here, on the north-western cape of the island, the tallest lighthouse in the Adriatic was built in 1849. This 42-meter-high structure has retained the title of the largest to this day. Its yellow facade is said to owe its color to the 100,000 egg yolks that were used during construction. The lighthouse operates under the supervision of a lighthouse keeper who lives here with his family and even rents rooms. In its courtyard there is a chapel of St. Nicholas - patron saint of sailors. The romance of this unique place attracts lovers, so weddings are often held in the chapel. The cape, surrounded by a dense pine forest, with small, charming pebble beaches and a rocky coast, leaves no one indifferent.
Photo: Veli Rat lighthouse
North of the lighthouse, in the sea, there is the wreck of the Italian cargo ship Michelle, which ran aground here in 1983, apparently not by accident, but to extort compensation. Either way, it was left there as an attraction for divers. For years, most of the ship protruded above the sea surface, so there was even an artist who shot a music video for his song in such a unique scenery. Over time, the wreck sank deeper and deeper and now only the mast sticks out of the water. However, it is still shallow enough to be an excellent place for snorkeling.
Photo (by journal.hr): Michelle's shipwreck
Not far south of the lighthouse is one of the most famous and most photographed beaches in Croatia - Sakarun. A large bay with shallow, warm water, surrounded on all sides by dense forests, attracts sailors and those who do not have their own boat. Numerous cruise ships take tourists to Božava, and from there a tourist train runs to the beach. Saharun has approximately 800 m of coastline and its coast is gravel and sand. Only about 250 m from the shore the sea becomes deeper and the bottom of the bay is covered with sand. Such conditions make it an ideal place for children and people who cannot or cannot swim well. Due to the great popularity of the Croatian Maldives, the beach can be crowded during the season, but it is certainly a must-see.
Photo: Sakarun Beach
Božava, mentioned earlier, and Dragove, located a little further south, hide another surprise. Near these towns there are bunkers for war submarines, which are now a safe haven for sailboats and ships. Some have additional passages/tunnels accessible from land.
Photo: Bunker near Božava
Dugi Otok - a Croatian pearl where the surrounding landscape delights with its natural shape, unchanged by human hands. Where people have lived among and in harmony with nature for centuries. Where intrusive urbanization and modernization has not yet reached. Where the body and soul can slow down, find true relief and rest away from the busy everyday life. This unique nature therapy is complemented by the scent of the local air.