Kornati National Park

ORNATI ISLANDS is a group of about 130 islands, islets and reefs sprinkled in the deep blue sea of the Adriatic covering an area of about 64 sq km. The Kornati archipelago is in Dalmatia, a coastal region of Croatia just across the cities of Zadar and Sibenik.

The largest island is Kornat from which the archipelago takes its name. Other larger islands are, Piskara, Kurba Vela, Zut, Sit , Vrgada and Levrnaka. Apart from a tiny area of cultivated land with fig trees, olives and vineyards, Kornati islands are rocky, covered with thin grass, rare trees and Mediterranean scrubs.

Over the time erosion has been caused by the sea, over grazing by sheep and fire.This erosion has deprived the islands of their primeval luxurious vegetation, and the people have moved to more hospitable islands. Some of the bigger islands were inhabited during the Neolithic age by Illyrians. A number of wealthy families from Zadar and later Venice have claimed possession of the larger islands.
The Kornati have no permanent inhabitants, although the present owners from nearby larger Dalmatian islands periodically visit Kornati to tend their vineyards and olive groves, bringing their sheep to graze. The sea around the islands is rich with fish and a variety of marine life.... The islands have no spring water, only rainwater collected in water holes.

The unique feature of the islands lies in their rugged shores with many caves and coves. The landscape of chalk limestone is covered with bushes of rosemary, juniper, lavender, thyme, myrtle and sage. Pathways leading to steep and huge cliffs facing the open sea and others gently decline towards the sea, ending in a small bay with a jetty and one or two fishermen's cottages surrounded by pine, olives and fig trees....