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A Piece of the True Mediterranean in the Northern Adriatic
The Kamenjak Peninsula is located in the southernmost part of Istria. The scents of medicinal herbs and sea salt, the buzzing of bees and the murmur of the sea merge at Kamenjak into a true sense of nature. The area used to be covered in holm oak forests that have been degraded over the centuries by timber harvesting and cattle grazing and have finally turned into grasslands with an abundance of plant species. These open habitats are a treasure trove of biodiversity and are protected under the Habitats Directive of the EU. The particularly distinctive and valuable landscape of Kamenjak is a combination of forests, grasslands, garrigue, maquis and rocky ground.
The Habitat of Many Endangered Species
Kamenjak is also one of the rare habitats of endangered and protected species such as the least adder's-tongue (Ophioglossum lusitanicum) and woolly chamomile (Anthemis tomentosa), and the only known site in Croatia for the extremely rare and endangered yellow centaury (Cicendia filiformis). Almost 100 million years ago, dinosaurs used to walk on Kamenjak, and a glimpse of these prehistoric times remain forever preserved in many fossils that can be found on the shores of Kamenjak. A walking path on the Grakalovac peninsula will lead you to the site of fossilised dinosaur footprints.
