The island of Koločep is one of the three inhabited Elaphiti Islands

Elaphiti Islands

The Elaphiti Islands or the Elaphites is a small archipelago consisting of several islands stretching northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Adriatic sea. The Elaphites have a total land area of around 30 square kilometers and a population of 850 inhabitants...

 situated near the city of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

. Koločep is the southernmost inhabited island in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 and is locally known as Kalamota.

Location and access

The island of Koločep lies at a distance of 1 km from the closest point on the mainland and about the same distance from the peninsula of Lapad, further east towards the city of Dubrovnik itself. The port of Dubrovnik (“Gruž

Gruž

Gruž is modern day neighborhood in the greater city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The main port for Dubrovnik is in Gruž as well as its largest market and the main bus station "Libertas". Around 15,000 people currently live in Gruž...

”) is situated at the base of a bay on the other side of Lapad, requiring a 5 km journey by boat to the island. The island can be reached by regular ferry service “Jadrolinija

Jadrolinija

Jadrolinija is a Croatian sea shipping company. It is a state-owned company and its main mission is connecting Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services...

” – the “Postira” and “Premuda” services connect the Elaphiti Islands several times throughout the day. It is a 20 minute boat ride from one port to the other (Dubrovnik–Koločep) by ferry, or 10 minutes by Water taxi.

Population and transportation

There are two settlements on the island called Gornje Čelo and Donje Čelo with about 150 inhabitants. Both are situated in their respective coves with a winding 3 km walkway in between. Koločep is car free but many paths and walkways crisscross the island.

Climate and vegetation

Koločep has more than 250 sunny days a year. Its climate is of a moderate Mediterranean type, and due to the isle's indented coastline and small area, the predominant climatic features throughout the island are influenced by the Adriatic. The sea moderates the air temperature considerably keeping the average monthly daytime highs above 10 °C in the winter time and below 27 °C in the summer.

Clear waters surrounding the island range from deep blue to turquoise aqua. The coastline has with a number of hidden coves: the Blue Cave can be accessed swimming from one such cove on the south side of the island. An area off shore where lobsters abound is another one of Koločep's features.

The islands flora includes stands of tall pine and olive groves.

History

In the times of the Republic of Ragusa

Republic of Ragusa

The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...

, Koločep was an important shipbuilding site. Two members of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

’ crew on the Santa Maria

Santa María (ship)

La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción , was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.-History:...

 were sailors from Kolocep. Archaeological remnants of ancient European conquerors have been found on the island: from the ancient times of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 to the Napoleonic times. This small island of only 2.3 km² has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century.

Dubrovnik Čilipi approach

A Non-directional beacon

Non-directional beacon

A non-directional beacon is a radio transmitter at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. As the name implies, the signal transmitted does not include inherent directional information, in contrast to other navigational aids such as low frequency radio range, VHF...

 used for landing at Dubrovnik Čilipi airport

Dubrovnik Airport

-Traffic statistics:Dubrovnik Airport handled 1,270,062 passengers in 2010.In 1987 Dubrovnik Airport handled 1.5 million passengers and 2500 tons of cargo, making 1987 year the busiest thus far...

in located on Koločep Island.

External links

• http://www.kolocep.com.hr
• http://www.kolocep.com
• http://www.jadrolinija.hr/default.aspx?dpid=1304
• Kolocep info