Zadar (county)

Zadar (county)

In Zadar county the white stone mountains meet the blue Adriatic sea. This is the **Zadar archipelago coastal drive**. Cross the bridge to the **island of Pag**. The island looks like the surface of the moon because it is covered in white salt and bare rock. You can find **olive groves in Lun** with trees that are over 2000 years old. These trees still produce oil today. The island is also famous for its salt pans and its very hard sheep cheese. The cheese gets its flavor from the salty herbs the sheep eat on the hills. Inland you will find the deep red earth of the **Ravni Kotari** plains. This soil grows some of the best cherries and figs in the country. You can visit the **Paklenica canyon** which has huge vertical stone walls that climbers love. Visit **Tulove Grede** to see the jagged rocky peaks where famous movies were filmed long ago. The contrast between the salt-white stone of the coast and the green forest of the mountains is very dramatic. You can also find old bunkers hidden in the mountains from the Cold War days. It is a land of hidden secrets and open views. Visit the **Museum of Ancient Glass** in Zadar to see glass-blowing demonstrations and artifacts found in Roman graves. For a unique experience drive to **Nin** to walk on the long sandy Queen’s Beach and visit the Church of the Holy Cross which is the smallest cathedral in the world. Drink a glass of **Maraschino** liqueur which is a Zadar specialty made from Marasca cherries. If you want to escape the crowds take a boat from the Zadar waterfront to the **Kornati Islands National Park**. The best spot for a photo is the **Zrmanja River Canyon** near Obrovac where the river cuts through the yellow karst.

Zadar (county) highlights

Part of these road trips

Follow the routes that cross this destination

The Scenic Route
The Heritage Drive
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History of Zadar (county)

Zadar is where the **Roman Empire** meets the modern sea. The city forum was the center of the world in this region 2,000 years ago, and you can still walk on the original stones. During the Middle Ages, the city was a fiercely independent maritime republic that rivaled Venice for control of the Adriatic trade routes. The county’s history is a story of survival, having been bombarded in world wars and besieged in the 90s, yet its spirit remains indestructible. The island of **Pag** is a white-rock desert where the wind is so salty that only a few herbs can grow. This moon landscape produces the world’s most famous **sheep cheese**, aged by the salt-spray and the mountain air. The local sheep eat wild sage and thyme, which infuses the milk with a flavor profile that cannot be replicated anywhere else on earth. The island is also home to the **Nin Mud**, a natural health spa used by kings to heal their battle wounds. In the backcountry, the **Zrmanja River Canyon** was the filming location for **Winnetou** because it looks exactly like the American Old West. The canyon’s walls are striped with layers of colored sediment that glow bright orange and red during the golden hour. It is a land of dramatic limestone peaks and hidden sea bays like **Zavratnica**, where a WWII ship sits just below the water. It is the ultimate driving destination for those who want both mountains and islands.
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