About Istria

General informations about Istria

Location: the westernmost County of the Republic of Croatia , the largest peninsula of the Adriatic  
Area: 2.820 Km2 (Dragonja, Cape Kamenjak, Ucka)  
Coast length: 445,1 km (well-indented coast is twice as long as the road one) The western coast of Istria is 242,5 km long, with islands 327,5 km (178,1 M). The eastern coast of Istria is 202,6 km long, with the pertaining islets 212,4 km (114,5 M)   The westernmost point is Savudrija, while the southernmost point is near Premantura (Kamenjak).

Population: 200.000
Administrative centre: Pazin, 9 000 inhabitants
Economic center: Pula, 82 000 inhabitants
Vegetation Istria is the largest green oasis of the North Adriatic. The coast and the islands are covered with pine woods and easily recognizable green macchia. The main specimens of macchia are holm oak and strawberry trees. 35% Istria is covered with forests.
Climate mild, Mediterranean climate (warm and dry summers, mild and pleasant winters) Average amount of sunshine: 2.388 hours. Owing to the day's length and plenty of clear days throughout the summer it has the longest insolation with a daily average of 10 hours in Istrian seaside resorts. Characteristic winds are "bura" (wind blowing from the north to the south, bringing clear weather), "jugo" (south, warm wind bringing rain) and "maestral" (summer breeze blowing from the land to the sea) .
Sea the lowest sea temperature is in March ranging from 9.3 C up to 11.1 C and being the highest in August when it reaches 23.3 C and 24.1 C; salinity amounts approximately to 36 - 38 pro mille.
Soil The soil is predominantly formed of limestone, with a lack of water due to the typical karst topography. The highest point is Vojak, at 1.401 meters above sea level on the Učka Mountain. There is the so- called "white", "black" and "red" Istria. White Istria is around the peaks, green Istria is a fertile land in Istria’s interior, while red Istria is near the coast.
Caving - Istria is an interesting territory with more than two thousand caves, caverns, chasms and abysses. The best known are the the Pazin Pit, the Baredine Cave, the Feštinsko kraljevstvo, the Romualdo Cave and the Mramornica Cave.  
Rivers: Mirna, Dragonja and Rasa
Nature reserves – Brijuni National Park and Nature Park Učka are legally protected areas. Other interesting places are Lim, the woods near Motovun, Zlatni Rt, the forest of Šijana in the vicinity of the town, the protected area of Kamenjak on the southernmost point of the peninsula and the Palud Reserve (ornithology) near Rovinj. The Brijuni archipelago is an interesting destination with a plant habitat of about 680 plant species.
Currency: national currency is Croatian Kuna(Kn). There are banknotes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Kunas and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Lipas in circulation (100 lipas = 1 Kuna) The money can be exchanged in official exchange offices (banks, post offices, hotels, tourist agencies) according to the current exchange rates. The payments may be done by credit cards (Diners, Visa, American Express, Eurocard, Mastercard) and Eurocheques
In most places there are several cafes with Internet access. Most of the hotels, camps and private accommodation offer a free network to their guests while Pula offers an open wireless network that covers the entire downtown area to its citizens and visitors.