An afternoon at a Croatian National Park – Plitvička Jezera (Video)

Nov 3
Grant

(Plitvička Jezera, Croatia)

At the top of our list of things to see while in Croatia is Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes). This is Croatia’s oldest and largest national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our friend M came to visit us in Zadar and the three of us spent an afternoon at the park.

 

(Heading from Zadar towards the nearby mountains)

 

 

(Hill nearby the main park entrance)

The main attraction at Plitvička Jezera is the current 16 lakes which are created by the waters from various rivers as well as the surrounding mountain runoff. These are, however, not your typical lakes. What makes these lakes significant is that travertine sediment in the water is constantly building on itself, creating barriers, sills, and other formations. The phenomenon has resulted in lakes flowing down one into the next by a series of amazing waterfalls.

Really, the photos can speak more than words.

 

(First view of the park just past the main entrance)

 

(The aptly named Veliki Slap – “Big Waterfall”)

 

(Lower section of Veliki Slap)

 

(Walkway over the top of the lower section, leading to the best closeup view of Veliki Slap)

 

 

(Sasha at Veliki Slap)

 

(Looking upstream, one lake barrier and walkway easily seen)

 

 

 

(Gorgeous glass-like lakes)

 

(Series of small waterfalls over a travertine barrier)

 

 

(There are plentiful wildlife all around, including these ducks)

 

(Series of waterfalls flowing into a lower lake)

 

(The largest of the lower lakes – there is a section of tall grasses growing at the barrier. When walking past we heard a girl ask if there were crocodiles in the water – she sounded like she was from Australia, so we’ll let it go)

 

(Lake with ferry. We were going to take the ferry but decided to hike around the lake instead)

 

(Rowboats can be rented on the large lake)

 

 

After hiking around the lake, we took a shuttle bus back towards the entrance. It doesn’t go all the way, but it gets you pretty close. We would have hiked the entire way, but the day was getting late. The return route took us along the upper rim of the gorge, offering us a completely different perspective of the area.

 

 

 

The various formations are continually changing, so every year the number of lakes and size of each lake may be slightly different from the previous year. There is at least one example where the barrier of a lower lake built up high enough that the level of the lake rose and combined with the lake above.

The park itself is in fantastic shape. M noted that it felt more like an American national park with well maintained walkways, marked trails, recommended routes (also well marked), and a shuttle system to help move people around. The boardwalks, even though spanning across the moving water and waterfalls, are all in excellent shape and there was never a point where we felt uneasy. Unlike American national parks, there often are no railings to prevent you from falling into the water. I was surprised, however, that more people didn’t fall off the walkways while taking selfies.

 

 

 

 

We only had time before sunset and the park closed to see the lower four lakes, but these really were amazing. Perhaps we will plan another trip and try to hike around to the upper twelve.

And if photos weren’t enough, video is even better.

 

 

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