Much of the landscape inland from Šibenik is shaped by the Krka, the 72.5km-long river that rises in the arid karst near Knin before flowing towards the Adriatic via a spectacular series of rugged canyons, azure lakes and tumbling waterfalls. The valley’s most dramatic stretches, between Skradin and 3.5km downstream of Knin, fall under the protection of the Krka National Park (Nacionalni park Krka), which is visited by an average of one million people a year.

About 90% of these visitors never get any further than Skradinski buk (the most dramatic of seven sets of rapids within the park), whose foaming waters are reproduced on the cover of many a tourist brochure. However there is much more to the Krka than Skradinski buk, especially in the upper (northern) reaches of the park, where visitor facilities and trekking routes are recently being developed. Fauna in the park includes roe deer, wild boar, and the more elusive wolves and badgers. The rocky sides of the valley play host to various communities of bats, who play an important role in eating mosquitoes and other irritating waterside insects. It’s also an area rich in historical resonances, with ruins of fortresses recalling the region’s erstwhile status as a disputed borderland between warring empires, and waterside monasteries providing evidence of a rich spiritual culture.