Canoeing the grand canyon of Zrmanja.

There are rivers in Croatia whose beauty a few others can match - clear and clean, abundant with fish and all sorts of plant life, flowing through magnificent landscapes of canyons and forests in rustic or wilderness areas. They will delight not just canoeists or rafters but also the sophisticated traveler - with natural, cultural, historical and folkloric landmarks.

Mreznica river camp.

Most of them flow in the area known as "karst" and produce their own waterfalls. It works like this: lots of plants and animals produce carbon dioxide; when mixed with water it melts rocks rich with calcium carbonate. Dry, warm air helps water to evaporate and this carbonate covers bottom, water plants and submerged wood thus turning them into rocks. That happens there where water flows faster and is turbulent – on rapids and falls. That is how these waterfalls "grow". The substance forming rocks and barriers is called "travertine" and the waterfall that you admired five years ago is probably higher and very different now!