Lastovo

Lastovo was a closed military zone from 1976 to 1988 - foreigners could not visit and the island was effectively sealed - which stopped the development that reshaped most of the Adriatic islands in the same decades, and left it with its forest cover, its field pattern and its architecture intact. It was declared a nature park in 2006, covering the island and forty-odd islets around it. The chimneys of Lastovo village, tall and elaborately built, are a local peculiarity found nowhere else. Because it is remote and has almost no light pollution, the sky here is exceptionally dark and the park promotes it for that.

What you actually see

• A closed military island until 1988 - which is why it stayed as it is.
• A nature park since 2006 - the island and about forty islets.
• Tall decorated chimneys - a building form peculiar to Lastovo village.
• Very dark skies - almost no light pollution anywhere on it.

When to go

May to September; ferries are sparse and long in winter. Several days.

Honest expectations

Getting here takes hours by sea and schedules are limited - this is not a day trip. Services are few and seasonal. Water and supplies are shipped in. Roads are narrow. There is no nightlife, which is the point.

Nearby

Korcula is north; Mljet is east.