The Plitvice National Park Croatia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site spread over an area of 295 sq km.
The park is picture perfect, its magnificent beauty comparable perhaps only to the Garden of Eden itself.
There are waterfalls, lakes, rapids and more waterfalls gushing and foaming their way into these lakes and spilling out of them. I had read somewhere before our visit that there are wild animals like wolves and bears in the forest around the national park but they've never been sighted because of such a heavy influx of tourists to the area. That's good to know!
Let me start with some basic info about the National Park
- Plitvice National Park has a total of 16 lakes, 12 upper and 4 lower. These lakes cascade into waterfalls of varying sizes and intensity, there are more than 90 waterfalls in the park. The park is divided into parts, Upper Lakes and Lower Lakes. These two parts are separated from each other by the 3 km-long Lake Kozjak.
- In the vicinity of the park are many beautiful small villages with accommodation facilities for tourists.
- The park has two main entrances - Entrance 1 will take you to the lower lakes. Entrance 2 will take you to the upper lakes. There is a shuttle bus and a shuttle boat that takes you from the upper lakes to the lower lakes and vice versa.
- Ticket prices include all these rides. Please retain them till the end of your trip, since they are checked while taking the shuttle boat ride on Lake Kozjak.
The beautiful village of Mukinje
The weatherman had predicted heavy rain the following day, so we decided to set off for the parks the same day post-lunch.
First look at the winding wooden paths....lots more to come!
Our two-day exploration of the park
On Day 1, we started our trip around noon. Our landlady felt that by noon, entry from Entrance 1 would get very crowded. So, we should start from Entrance 2, Upper Lakes.
After some inquiry from the Information office, we opted for Trail H and set forth.
The trail is 8.9 km long and is moderately tough. It takes around 5 to 6 hours to walk on this trail.
There are other trails also each one laid out on a different route and with varying degrees of difficult terrain.
We are greeted with small waterfalls emerging from everywhere, from behind the bushes and rocks. A sturdy wooden path takes us over a wide lake which is home to a large variety of fish. The path winds further into the park and over a very fast-gushing waterfall.
We keep walking on the designated trail, soaking in the beauty of this wonder of nature. Every possible variety of waterfall is visible here, small, medium, large, noisy, and silent ones, high and low, flowing into the lake and from the lake.
The walking trail leads us to the ferry point.
The ferry takes us to the other side of the park in continuation of the journey. Ferry and train tickets are included in the entrance ticket to the park. The ferry drops us off at the lower lakes.
The lower lakes are placid, and the scenery is still bewitching but the waterfalls look different. Towards the end of the trail is the signage for the ‘Big waterfall’. This is called 'Veliki Slap' and is 78 meters high.
If you have the energy to walk an extra couple of kilometres then don’t miss this one. If you do miss it then the only consolation is that the huge cascading waters of the fall are visible in all their glory from the main trail too.
On Day 2, we started a bit early and decided to venture out into the park from Entrance 1 at the lower lakes. We had seen both the upper and lower lakes on Day 1 itself, so this day we just spent lazying around and gaping at the beauty of this nature's wonder. This time we took a different trail. It starts from the main entrance leading up to the waterfront. Equally beautiful with a different view of the waterfalls.
My Tips about a visit to Plitvice National Park -
- The entire park is worth seeing. There are a lot of forums that advocate taking one entrance over another, I think taking Entrance 1 or 2 should be based on where you are staying. We stayed in an apartment in Mukinje, a quaint village very close to the park. Entrance 2 was closest to our place. So, we started with the upper lakes.
- Upper lakes are more exciting for families with teenagers and young children. There are small wooden footbridges that go over cascading waters that create a roaring sound as they fall into deep rapids and waterfalls. Lower lakes, on the other hand, are calmer. And, of course, the Big Waterfall is located here.
- One should try to understand the layout of the park before starting on the trip, depending on the amount of time you have and the level of difficulty of each trail. Trails vary from 3 hours to 6 or more hours of walking time. Pick one trail and stick to it. Chances of you getting lost are thin as there are exiting routes, if you follow them, you will reach one of the exits.
- A visit to the park involves a lot of walking. We walked close to 25,000 steps on Day 1. Wear very comfortable shoes and carry some light snacks and water for your outing.
- If you are travelling with small kids, then remember, there are no protective rails on the footbridges. I feel that even taking prams over these tricky wooden ledges might be difficult. So, plan accordingly.
- If you plan a day trip only, take the bus directly to the Plitvice National Park entrance. Bus connections in Croatia are excellent, there are many buses plying between Zagreb and Plitvice at frequent intervals. With just a day at hand, you will have to rush through the park. It's best to have pre-purchased online tickets to save time and avoid queues. Ideally, one should plan to stay in one of the villages nearby and see the entire park over two days.
We've walked all this way uphill from the lower waterfalls to the top of the park to get this mesmerizing picture!
Worth every step I must say.....
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