Mljet National Park

Five nautical miles wide is the Mljet channel; the island of Mljet itself only 3 km - but 37 km long. Here, opposite the Peljesac peninsula and the port towns of Dubrovnik and Korcula, lies the national park of the same name, which takes up the 31 square kilometre north-western end of the island. On the island itself only about 1,000 inhabitants still live in 13 small villages, but the island's varied nature attracts far more visitors from all over the world: in the south-east one finds limestone soil and dolomite, dramatic depressions and the greater part of the settlements. The middle part of the island is shaped by three parallel mountain ranges. Here the island reaches a height of 514 metres on the Veliki Grad. And the national park captivates through its jagged coasts, which display ice-age sandy beaches, wonderful bays and an impressive flora and fauna. Above all, however, the coastline is determined more dramatically than in most other places by the height of the sea level, so that here one can intuitively sense how former lakes turned into bays over the last centuries.

Many tour operators offer guided day trips into the national park. These start in Dubrovnik, Korčula and Orebić, but in other places too excursions are occasionally offered by private individuals. Anyone who prefers to explore the park under their own steam and organise their time freely can take the ferry from Trstenik on the Pelješac peninsula during the holiday season, or travel all year round with the boats from Dubrovnik. This brings you to one of the two harbours on Mljet: Pomena or Polače. From Pomena, walks through the forest to Malo jezero suggest themselves; whoever drops anchor in Polače can take a minibus straight to the front door of the park administration three kilometres away.