Plitvice Lakes National Park, Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is well worth a visit if you are traveling Croatia or this part of Europe. Said ‘Plit-vich’ as the Croatian language uses ‘c’ as ‘ch’ like Italian.

Close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, this park can be found at the heart of this odd shaped country – it’s not in the north region near Zagreb, nor in the south near Dubrovnik, neither in the west near Pula or anywhere near the coast, but in the ...
...from them.

Plitvice Lakes National Park has been a World Heritage Site since 1979. There are a total of sixteen lakes at the park, divided into upper and lower sections. The park is very green with beech, spruce and fir trees providing plenty of foliage. It was supposedly damaged in the conflict between Serbia, Croatia and Yugoslavia etc, but there is no sign of this. The park is in pristine condition.

There are two ... more

Plitvice Lakes National Park is well worth a visit if you are traveling Croatia or this part of Europe. Said ‘Plit-vich’ as the Croatian language uses ‘c’ as ‘ch’ like Italian.

Close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, this park can be found at the heart of this odd shaped country – it’s not in the north region near Zagreb, nor in the south near Dubrovnik, neither in the west near Pula or anywhere near the coast, but in the middle. There are buses here from the north and south on the Zagreb to Split route, but be warned, they are not the most reliable. We had to wave at a couple buses before one would actually stop for us. There are no trains near here but the roads are good.

Why go there?

The sheer color of the water is a reason to go here. All photos of this place show crystal clear Caribbean blue water, but then all pictures of holiday locations are like this… but seriously, this water really is delightfully blue and glass-like in its opacity. The water has a very high mineral content. I went here with my partner on a grey day, and it was still tropical blue. The color is owed to the limestone and chalk that the water has carved and shaped these lakes into. So, anyone with a slight interest in photography will be making the most of this location.

The place has a long system of wooden walkways all around it and a comprehensive signage system with supporting maps showing you the different walks around the park, from as long as 10 km to just 1 or 2 km. There is reportedly lots of wildlife here – birds, bears, wild cats etc, but to come across much you’d have to go off the tourist track I think.

There are loads of waterfalls, and hundreds of pools to wonder around. The lakes are full of fish and you’ll see the odd bird too. Mind your step when walking around though, as the boardwalk doesn’t have any handrails for most of its length. Other photo opportunities include the unusual limestone karst formations and the huge tufts of moss hanging from them.

Plitvice Lakes National Park has been a World Heritage Site since 1979. There are a total of sixteen lakes at the park, divided into upper and lower sections. The park is very green with beech, spruce and fir trees providing plenty of foliage. It was supposedly damaged in the conflict between Serbia, Croatia and Yugoslavia etc, but there is no sign of this. The park is in pristine condition.

There are two entrances to the park, and you’ll be charged a fee to enter and get close to the lakes. There is a bus/tractor vehicle that takes you back from entrance 2 if you decide to do a one-way walk. There is also a boat that ferries you from one side of the lakes to the other if you decide to do a figure-of-eight walk.

There are good camping sites nearby with plenty of information about the park, but you are not allowed to camp randomly– and that is the same for the whole of Croatia. I stayed at Autocamp Korana, a few miles away and they provided a bus to the park twice a day. The campsite was huge, cheap and had all the usual facilities on site, including information videos about Plitvice.

Facilities:

There are a few hotels nearby where you could pop into for the toilet if necessary and at entrance 1 there is a café/giftshop on site. There are also stalls served by old ladies that sell the most wonderful strudels ever. This really made up for the bad weather and long journey we had that day, and I regret not taking some home with me. There was rasberry & sweet cheese flavour, poppy seed and apple, apply & cherry, cheese & spinach and many others. Trust me these really were better than anything you can get from British bakeries.

I went there in August, and Croatia is very warm and dry by this stage in the summer, however it was a lot cooler up here at Plitvice and there was a slight mist, but nothing to ruin your photos. I would recommend this place whatever the weather, because even if it’s raining – at least then there’ll be more water. Take a light coat with you and walking boots are recommended.

Any reasons to avoid this place?

Well there were loads of snap-happy tourists there on a wet day, so I’d expect more on a sunny day. Of course, you can’t complain about other tourists if you are one yourself, but being that you are trapped on a single, 1m wide walkway you can often find yourself either trapped behind a group or getting your heels trod on.

The weather – it’s a gamble really. The actual park is still good in bad weather, but camping nearby might not be so much fun. They get some serious thunder and lightening here as we found out. I also couldn’t help worry about bears.

As a comparison to other NP’s, this one is Croatia’s most popular – which means it’s well funded and looked after, but obviously attracts the crowds. Other Croatian NP’s are not so easy to get to and lack in facilities but are supposed to be lovely and almost as good. Krk NP is further south, and although lacking the lakes that make Plitvice popular, it does have some lovely scenery.

Conclusion:

This park would be a highlight on any Croatian trip. Actually staying at the hotels on-site might get a little boring as there is no town nearby, but could still be good if you have certain activities in mind such as mountain biking or rafting. There is plenty of beauty to be found in this park and the place is well maintained. It is worth its 6 Euros entrance fee.

The park is open all year round, usually between 8am and 7 pm. 

...less