Nature

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  Nature

  RAB is an island of sun, sea and beauty and it is one of the greenest islands of the Croatian Adriatic. Rab is the ninth largest island of the Croatian Adriatic.
  The island measures 22 km in length from the cape of Sorinj to the cape of Glavina.
  The island’s width is 11 km.
  Kamenjak, with its peak at 408 m, is the highest and largest mountain massif, of limestone composition, that protects the island from cold northern influences.
  For its woods the island has earned the name 'dark' (Arbe), and the people of Rab are passionate about greenery and forests.

  
  
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  Sea and beaches

  The sea and the beaches, with its emerald-blue colour, have enchanted many visitors to Rab. This is true, whether we are talking of the stony beaches, with their proud pines in whose shade they lie, or of the gravel beaches of Barbat and Banjol, or perhaps the sandy beaches of Kampor and Lopar, which follow on from the kilometre and a half long sandy Paradise Beach (Rajska Plaža).
  
  Or perhaps the visitor's attention will be most drawn by a beach at the back of a quiet, isolated bay, which can only be reached by boat. Naturists, believers in the culture of body freedom, will also find a place on the island.
  
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  Underwater

  The waters around the island of Rab contain a range of fascinating underwater sites and phenomena. It should be no surprise then that there are no less than six diving centres on the island, which organise professionally-supervised dives and diving schools for many different categories. Under the sea you can admire schools of fish, shells and corals, while around the island there are also several small shipwrecks as well as a whole protected amphora field.
  
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  Komrčar town park

  This is a pine wood of particular importance which was planted by the head forester of Rab, Pravdoje Belija, and which represents one of the most beautiful parks on the Croatian Adriatic.
  
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  Forest area - Kalifront peninsula

  This is situated on the north-western side of the island. The peninsula of Kalifront is characterised by its karst relief and the well-indented coast with numerous beautiful sea bays. It is the greenest part of the island of Rab, covered with extraordinary holm oak forest and it is also the largest woodland area.
  The length is 9 km from the cape of Kalifront to the cape of Frkanj.
  The width is 3 km from the cape of Planka to the bay of Kampor.
  The peninsula is between 50 and 70 m above sea-level and the highest point is the area of Plogar 94 m.
  The coast is mainly low and rocky. The forests of the Kalifront peninsula are ideal for relaxing hiking. The hilly areas and paths are not demanding, so older visitors can enjoy hiking too.
  
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  Forest Dundo

  The peninsula of Kalifront is famous for its Holm oak, which can be found in the forest of Dundo, one of the rare forests on the Mediterranean that is so well preserved. It is also the most important forest on the island of Rab.
  
  Holm oak (Quercus ilex) is an evergreen oak which can reach a thousand years in age. A few impressive examples are preserved in the Dundo forest.
  
  In 1949 the Dundo forest was declared a natural rarity and iwas placed under the protection of the Department for Natural Heritage Protection in the category of Special Reserve Forest – Botanical Reserve (forest vegetation).
  
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  The Kalifront open state hunting ground

  An open hunting ground is located on the Kalifront peninsula, managed by the Faculty of Forestry in Zagreb for the purposes of scientific and research work. In the hunting ground you may come across:

  • axis deer (Axis axis)
  • mouflon (Ovis musimon).

  Pine woods on the island of Rab

  • aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis)
  • maritime pine (Pinus pinaster)
  • European black pine (Pinus nigra)
  • Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea)
  • cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
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  The Premužić Path on the Kalifront Peninsula

  The Premužić Path was built around 1930 by Ante Premužić, a university-educated forestry engineer
  and a famous architect and constructor of forest roads, mountain hiking paths and expert in stream management.
  The Premuzić Path passes through the most interesting parts of Kalifront, the protected forest of Dundo and at one point, in the northernmost part of the island in the region of Lopar and Fruga, through an area where the effects of erosion can clearly be seen on the flysch formations.
  
  Some of the forms, which resemble towers and pyramids, reach a height of 5 m.
  
  Indigenous vegetation to Kvarner

  • Croatian birthwort (Aristolochia croatica)
  • Croatian daisy (Leucanthemum croaticum)
  • Dalmatian knapweed (Centaurea dalmatica)
  • Istrian bellflower (Campanula istriaca)
  • Kvarner fern (Phyllitis hibrida)

  Places where the holm forest was destroyed due to various influences are covered with macchia which is characteristic for its diverse shrubbery. Most of the area of the Lopar peninsula is covered with scrub and there are also numerous dry meadows and rocky pasture grounds.
  
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  Animal life on the island of Rab

  • hare (Lepus europaeus) the biggest indigenous mammal
  • European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
  • beech marten (Martes foina), the most numerous carnivorous animal
  • fallow deer (Dama dama) inhabit Goli otok

  There are also rats, field mice, domestic house mice and bats along with the least weasel (Mustela nivalis) and hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus).
  There are also numerous bird species – 162 of them grouped in 44 families.