This is without doubt the best-known anchorage on the Adriatic, along with Polače on Mljet. The harbour forms part of Telašćica Nature Park, which used to be part of the Kornati National Park, but which has been a specially protected reserve since 1988. As far as sailors are concerned, the two areas are a single unit. Hardly anyone comes here without visiting both Telašćica and the Kornati Islands, even though you have to pay two entrance fees to two different operators. Telaščica is also famous for its salt lake, Mir, and the cliffs on the south shore of Dugi Otok, which separate it from the open sea, as well as for its unique bay. Some of the islands and islets, which we often group with the Kornati Islands, actually belong to Telašćica Nature Park – Gornja Aba, Veli and Mali Buć, Mala Aba, Sestrice and Katina. The entire park is bursting with a variety of flora and fauna. Only divers will be able to see the rare red coral habitat, but dolphins are more frequent and most people get to see them. At least three times, I have been followed by a vivacious family of dolphins while approaching an anchorage at low speed. To make sure this beauty is preserved for future generations, there is a strict code of conduct for visitors to the park, which also applies to the areas designated for anchoring. The park management prefers you to use the buoys, and keeps them well-maintained, although in some bays there are none. There are about a hunTripuljak dred in Telašćica Harbour, in Mir, Tripuljak, Kruševica and Kučinmul Coves, and anchoring is also permitted in Magrovica, Podugopolje, Pasjak, Jaz, Buhaj and Pod Katinom, on Katina. You will not be charged for mooring to a buoy or dropping anchor, but you will pay an entrance fee to the park of HRK 60 per person. The harbour is deep, close to the Kornati Islands, extending four and half miles inland, measuring about a mile across at its widest point. The inner section, facing west, conceals 25 bays, some smaller, some larger. So as you sail into Telašćica, you will see a series of sheltered, enclosed bays, like small lakes. If you arrive from the northwest, the anchorages begin by Gornji and Donji Školj, in Magrovica, Podugopolje and Pasjak Coves, where there are no buoys. Anchor in the shallow, silty bed, partially covered in sea grass, at a maximum depth of 5.5 metres, where the greatest danger is summer squalls, if you are not attached to a buoy, because the bed is too shallow and the presence of algae means that the anchor will not hold well. There is a restaurant in Magrovica, and the village of Sali is three kilometres away by road, over the hill. You can also anchor in Draginjevica Bay, east of Gornji Školj, at a depth of 6 metres. On the north side, you can find safe moorings on the buoys in Kruševica or Kučinmul Coves, between the peninsula of Raknić and Farfarikulac, where you will enjoy the solitude, as there are only a few houses on the shore, and these coves are the last to fill up with boats. There is a good anchorage in the narrow, indented bay of Čuška Duboka, which provides excellent shelter from all winds except the jugo. Drop anchor here in the silty bed and tie up stern to shore. There are buoys in Skradišćak Cove, just by Mala Proversa; they do not belong to the park authorities, but to the restaurant owner. The greatest number of boats can be found in Mir and Tripuljak Coves, where there are buoys placed at a depth of 10 metres all the way to Tripuljak Point. The coves are well sheltered from all winds and if you are attached to a buoy, you can do what you like – set off by dinghy for the jetty and restaurants in the bay, where there are plenty of tourist boats during the day, or walk to Mir salt lake, one of the attractions of Dugi Otok and a good subject for monochrome photos. There is also a very pleasant walk to the other side of the island through pine forests, to the cliffs which fall vertically 150 metres or more into the sea (and continue underwater to a depth of 80 metres).