A beautiful lake filled with seawater, which changes colors, sometimes boils, and is surrounded by rocks and is the inspiration for numerous legends. You might think that we're talking about something we read in novels from Tolkien or Stephen King, but we're actually talking about a real lake called Zmajevo Oko (Dragon's Eye) in Croatia.

A Breathtaking Location

The Zmajevo oko lake is located near Rogoznica, a small town in Šibenik-Knin County. This fishing town has a beautiful coastline of up to 56 kilometers and is a perfect place for boaters because of its beautiful marina. The natural phenomenon of Zmajevo oko has a maximum depth of about 15 meters, and what makes it unique are its special chemical and physical properties. Although the lake is not in contact with the Adriatic Sea, it still contains seawater. Wondering how? Namely, the cracks in the limestone contribute to the exchange of water, so it is precisely for this reason that seawater is found in the lake. Zmajevo oko is surrounded by beautiful rocks, which remind us of scenes from fairy tales, and these rocks reach a height of up to 25 meters. The water in the lake itself has several layers of different colors, and the lake "boils" every few years. The lake's surface is blue and green, but in the very center of the lake it is yellow and green, and the lower part of the water is pink, sometimes red and purple. When the lake begins to "boil," its inhabitants, such as fish and turtles, flee into the sea due to lack of oxygen, and when the lake clears and calms down, the animal world returns. Quite interesting, don't you think?

This fairy-tale-ish and surreally beautiful lake was created by the collapse of the cave's ceiling, which was filled with seawater after the last ice age. It is interesting that at a depth of 10 meters, there is a layer without oxygen. The lake is perfect for refreshing on hot summer days, and the water temperature itself is enjoyable. And it is also popular as a place for jumping into the water from the rocks or simply a place where you want to take a swim at least once in your life.

Plenty of Legends

The very name Zmajevo oko reminds us of legends and fairy tales, and we were not mistaken; this place really has many of them. The first legend is about a dragon called Murin. The son of the goddess Hera and the god of the sea, Murin ruled the great fig tree and protected the inhabitants on land. However, as it always goes in legends, nobody does anything for free, and neither does Murin. He demanded the most beautiful girl for his wife, whom he would kill the same day. The grandson of Argonaut Jason, Atistoles, fell in love with that girl right away and challenged the dragon to a duel. Aristoles mortally wounded the dragon, and he, in the last moments of his life, dug out his eyes. He threw one eye behind the island of Mljet, and the other fell at his feet and melted the stone. The sea poured into that hollow. The happy ending of this legend encourages the belief that all lovers who bathe in the lake will be accompanied by good luck.

Another legend tells the story of two brothers who shared an inheritance. One brother was blind, and he was deceived by the brother who had good eyesight. The blind man then cursed his brother and the property that he stole, with the words: If you did not divide justly, let everything turn into a lake. That's how Zmajevo Oko was created.

Do you remember at the beginning that we said that this lake is not from Stephen King's novel? But there is a legend that this famous author might like. The legend of aliens. According to this legend, the spaceship crashed into the lake, and every 30 years, aliens send signals to their home planet. According to legend, this is the reason why the lake boils. Some believe that there is a meteor at the bottom, and others believe that a dragon sleeps at the bottom of the lake and wakes up during the full moon.

Either way, this natural phenomenon amazes everyone who visits it, not only with its legends but with its beauty that is above all, surreal and unique. It's time to get ready and come experience the unreal beauty of the Dragon's Eye.