One of Istria's most dramatic natural phenomena, the Limski kanal drives a narrow 10 km-long sliver of sea straight into the heart of the peninsula. With densely forested cliffs - rising straight up to a height of 150 metres - and calm, green crystal-clear water below, those who never took in basic geography might well mistake it for a Scandinavian fjord. Hollywood certainly banked on the fact. The Limski kanal was the main location used during the filming of The Long Ships, a 1963 film about jolly little Vikings off on their rape and pillage jaunts, and starring the rather Nordic Richard Widmark.
Richard left his mark here alright. A local family was so chuffed with Mr Widmark's compliments on the cooking, they vowed to open their own restaurant. The happy result is Viking, one of Istria's best fish restaurants sited directly at the water's edge. Of course it doesn't hurt to have world-class ingredients right on your doorstep. Limski kanal is feted for its oysters which, together with those from Ston in Dalmatia, are among the best you'll ever find.
As a protected area, sailing in the kanal is heavily restricted but you can take private guided boat trips from Rovinj. There is no local public ferry service but private boats can be hired. Anton Crnec (098 254 990 mobile) offers five-hour day trips in summer, with a break for swimming in the kanal itself. The 230kn cost includes live music and refreshments. If you prefer to keep your feet on dry land, there's a viewing platform by the main road.
The Lim valley stretches 35km in total, almost reaching the central town of Pazin. A couple of kilometres inland from where the kanal finishes, you find the ruined town of Dvigrad ('Two Towns'). As the name suggests, there were originally two settlements here -Parentin and Montecastello - but the Romans simply referred to them as Duo Castar. The name clearly stuck although Parentin was destroyed at the end of the 14th century, a casualty of the war between Venice and Genoa. Abandoned in 1631, Dvigrad's surviving population fled to nearby Kanfanar to escape an epidemic of malaria and plague. The site is well worth a visit - even a cursory exploration reveals that this was a major settlement, with at least 200 residential buildings and strong, fortified walls. You might want to pack a metal detector because locals claim that there's buried treasure here. For more about that you should travel a further 3km to the tiny village of Mrgani.
According to local legend, Mrgani was founded by the swashbuckling pirate, Sir Henry Morgan. This famous British captain, who turned renegade after the Anglo-Spanish war, is said to have regularly used Limski kanal as a bolt hole to escape his many enemies. He is also supposed to have stashed his ill-gotten gains somewhere in the immediate vicinity. Whatever the truth of this story there are a surprising number of people in this part of Istria who bear the distinctly Welsh-sounding moniker of Morgan.
Limski Kanal seems to have been a magnet for glamorous men. The Italian adventurer and sex pest Giacomo Casanova was a fan. Besotted by the local women and wine of Vrsar - which he writes about in his copious memoirs -he thought the place so came back more than once. Situated at the northern mouth of Limski kanal, this once small fishing town is now a well-developed destination for tourists with plenty of hotels, bars and restaurants.
In its historical heyday, Vrsar was a highly influential and the seat of the Porec bishopric. The old town itself is perched on top of a high cliff with wonderful views across the bay and the Vrsar archipelago of 18 little islands - all is topped off by its 12th-century castle. Largely unspoiled, Vrsar's Venetian-style architecture lines a maze of atmospheric narrow streets while down below are a large marina full of foreign yachts and a harbour where most of the town's modern hotels are sited.
If you'd rather have a holiday au naturel then head for nearby Koversada, one of the world's largest naturist colonies. With facilities for 15,000 residents, this self-contained holiday town is right on the beach and offers nudists all the facilities they could wish for. Popular with Dutch and German tourists, Istria has a long tradition of nudism but Koversada is the original and probably still the best such resort.
Much of the land surrounding the Limski kanal is under government protection as this large and unique tract of unspoiled land is home to a vast array of indigenous wildlife. One of Istria's most important nature reserves is Palud Bird Sanctuary. To reach it, take the main road from Rovinj, heading for Bale, and then take the turning for Vestar. Palud is signposted.
Palud's 500 acres is largely marshland with three to five acres continuously under water, to a depth of 1.5 metres, depending on the time of year. The salinity of the water ranges from 2.3 per cent in the rainy season to a staggering 58 per cent during the summer drought, considerably higher than the Adriatic itself. These extreme conditions produce a very specific range of flora and fauna which provide a highly diverse food supply for the wide range of migratory and resident birds that flock here. These include red-beaked swans, hawks, peregrines, buzzards and goshawks, to name but a few.
Palud, together with some three dozen other protected areas around Istria, is run by Natura Histrica .
It has erected two hides in the sanctuary and admission is free of charge. Also available are organised birdwatching tours (052 830 350, www.natura-histrica.hr) for up to eight people, complete with a local guide, costing 50kn per person, with children under 12 half-price.