Kopački rit

We were in Osijek on business, one of our favourite cities as it happens, and we wanted at all costs to finally see Kopački rit, one of the most remarkable natural phenomena not only of Baranja but of Croatia as a whole.

Although on that gloomy, overcast day we found it in perhaps its poorest edition – late autumn had already stripped the crowns of the trees and nature was settling down for its winter rest – it still delighted us in every respect, and we can hardly wait to visit it in late spring or early summer, when everything is teeming with life again and water lilies adorn the lakes.

It was already quite late, so we were extraordinarily lucky to catch the last boat of the season. The waters of the Park are toured on larger tourist boats, but there are also tours in small fast boats, which we definitely intend to try next time!

Besides the boats, part of the Park can be explored by bicycle and on foot, and the wooden walkways at the entrance to the Park are especially attractive, taking you for most of their length above the surface of the water. This walkway is some 700 m long one way, and from there you can carry on to the boat landing (45.6122109889901, 18.799513948537825), another 500 m or so. The wooden walkways link up with one another at several points, so your whole visit can be a loop or even a zigzag if you decide to make it one.

If you prefer, you can also reach the boat landing by car, as a local road runs right past it.

Kopački rit Nature Park is the oldest declared nature park in Croatia, established in 1976. It is the most important ornithological reserve in the country, with around 140 bird species nesting here, and another measure of its exceptional biodiversity is the figure of 2,000 biological species living here. It covers an area of more than 170 km2 between the Drava and the Danube. Within it lies a Special Zoological Reserve as well. In 1993 Kopački rit was declared a wetland of international importance protected under the Ramsar Convention. Most of the water system is made up of Lake Kopačko and Lake Sakadaš, which are joined to the Danube by natural channels.

Besides the natural beauty, we also liked the exhibition on the Park’s flora and fauna, and the other facilities that go with it.

We would certainly commend the Nature Park’s public institution for its environmental awareness. While many of our nature parks, forest parks and even national parks pay no attention to such details, here we saw that traffic inside the park is mostly electric.

The boats impressed us most of all – practically silent, and powered by solar panels mounted on the roof. Talking to the captain, we learned that the boats can also be charged from a socket, but that the solar panels are so efficient that they are quite enough to power the boat even in cloudy weather.

We ended the day in a wonderful restaurant, by the fire in the pleasant atmosphere of a tamburica band. Baranja is known for its food, and smoked carp pancetta is the finest thing we have ever tasted.