Bear-watching in Croatia's national parks: holidays beyond the Dalmatian coast

As the air cools in a fir-lined valley east of Croatia's Velebit mountains, the bears of Kuterevo stir to life in the gloaming. Lumbering out from their daytime retreat in the thick undergrowth, with a heavy grace that can only come with weighing upwards of 100kg, a female is wooed by two younger members of the group, cheerfully at first. Then suddenly her humour turns, signalling a rejection with a snarling scoring of the ground with her claws. This, I am informed by my beloved, who knows a bit about bears, means the opposite of: "Get your coat, love, you've pulled."

It is a breathtaking privilege to see bears like this in the almost-wild. The Kuterevo sanctuary (Pod Crikvon 109, Kuterevo) is the only one of its kind in the region, scooping up the casualties of the human population's ambivalent relationship to other large mammals. As with many successful environmental interventions, it was set up by a passionate maverick just over a decade ago as a nursery for cubs that had been orphaned by hunters or brought into towns for entertainment. It is now run by knowledgeable volunteers who take visitors around the huge enclosures that drape across the hillsides, for the price of a donation. They will also share their scepticism about whether EU membership is likely to change hunting behaviour in practice. Turning up at dusk is essential for those who want to see more than the most newly rescued cubs, deceptively cute as they are.

Bears aside– though bears alone are a pretty convincing reason to visit anywhere – the national park of the northern Velebit is home to over 2,700 plant species, as well as wolves, lynx, birds of prey and rarities such as the long-fingered bat and capercaillie. While discussion of Croatia as a travel destination usually focuses on the beachy delights of the Dalmatian coast, the country is also home to some of the most spectacular – and, crucially, well-protected – natural environments in Europe, with seemingly limitless opportunities for hiking, camping, climbing, caving, animal-spotting, birdwatching and generally "doing nature" without doing it in. Croatians take their environmental responsibilities very seriously. There are some 444 protected areas, making up 9% of the country, including eight national parks, two strict reserves and 10 nature parks. Essentially, it's like Canada but without the prohibitive airfares.

The most famous protected area and the oldest national park in Croatia is the Plitvice Lakes national park; it is also a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is, more infamously, the location of the first fatalities in the Croatian war of independence – and the park was held by Serbian forces during the conflict. Because of the area's economic importance, the government made it a priority for de-mining efforts after the war ended in 1995, but the damage caused by fishing with dynamite, unregulated hunting and forced migration was acute. I noticed, for example, that Plitvice is much quieter than other national parks, simply because much of the birdlife was frightened away and has yet to return.

This park's centrepiece is a stunning 8km of terraced lakes and waterfalls, coloured luminous turquoise by calcium deposits leaching into the water. It is a sight to behold but gets crowded, so it is worth considering other, less obviously "bling" parks, too.

The island parks of Mljet, Kornati and Brijuni are characterised by uniquely diverse underwater worlds. There was still snow in June this year in the Northern Velebit national park, which contrasts lush beech forest with more austere pine-spiked ridges, and here there is a proper day's hiking to be had, requiring detailed maps, sensible shoes and a chat with the ranger beforehand. Likewise, at the southern end of the range, sits Paklenica national park, with its deep limestone canyons and steep sheets of rock, up which I watched more nimble folk than myself ascend like wee fluorescent spiders.

About 90 minutes from the car park (I hired a car as Croatian public transport can be capricious), I ate sausages barbecued in the open air and plastered with ajvar, a local aubergine and pepper relish, at a mountain house cafe. Granted, visitors don't yet come to this country purely for the food (although they will soon, if the organic farming and upscaling establishments along the coast are anything to go by) but there's nothing like a solid uphill toil to remind one that it's possible to over-think processed pork.

Probably our favourite park was Krka, in Dalmatia, which follows a sequence of gorges, lakes and rapids of the river Krka towards the Adriatic. The mini-cascades over barriers of limestone sediment at Skradinski buk – a long walk or short bus ride from the main entrance – are not as dramatic as the waterfalls elsewhere in Croatia, but the meandering wooden walkways allow us to feel practically submerged, with the sound and smell of the torrent in our ears and noses.

Krka also plays host to a life-enhancing variety of butterflies, including swallowtails and clouded yellows, which appear to jostle for your attention along the paths.

When we visited earlier this month, the river was swollen with recent rain and snow melt, with many of the plants submerged and trailing their hair in the cataracts. Here, the songbirds were choiring in the trees.

This is one of the few national parks where swimming is allowed, though unfortunately we couldn't, because of what we were informed was overflowing water.

I'd advise noting ferry times in advance as, with all parks, some sections can only be reached by boat. Mind you, the worst that can happen is that you end up taking an unscheduled jaunt, as happened to us, where we spotted a leopard snake before he spotted us and slunk away.

The low cost and frequency of flights from Britain to Zadar, the ancient capital of Dalmatia, makes it an ideal base for island and mainland parks, for those who don't want to camp. Zadar itself is easy to fall for (Alfred Hitchcock did, declaring it the location of the best sunset in the world). And there is a phenomenally good restaurant at the Hotel Bastion for when the sausages get too much.

It is also the location of the Sea Organ, designed by local artist Nikola Bašic, which is such a simple and effective piece of public art I can't understand why every coastal town doesn't have one. A broad stone staircase descends into the sea, beneath which the waves push air through a series of underwater pipes and up through niches in the steps, to produce a random selection of musical notes. It is captivating to listen to, like hearing the song of the tide itself, particularly late into the evening, perhaps after visiting bears, perhaps with a bear-watching beloved of your own.

Flights and accommodation were provided by the Croatian National Tourist Board (croatia.hr). BA (0844 493 0787, ba.com) flies from Heathrow to Zagreb from £152 return. Ryanair (0871 246 0000, ryanair.com) flies Zadar to Stansted from £52 return. Hotel Mirni Kutak in Otocac (+385 53 771 589, hotel-mirni-kutak.hr) has doubles from £47pn. In Plitvice Lakes national park, the Hotel Jezero (+385 53 751 015, en.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr) has doubles from £50pn B&B. A double at Hotel Bastion (+385 23 494 950, hotel-bastion.hr) in Zadar costs from £105pn B&B, and in Šibenik, the Jadran Hotel (+385 22 242 000, rivijera.hr) has doubles from £48pn B&B

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