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croatia 2018: plitvice lakes national park

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Our day in Plitvice Lakes was the day that I had been looking forward to the most on our trip, and it did not disappoint. The park was even more beautiful than what I had seen in pictures as I was planning the trip, and is probably the most beautiful natural scenery I have ever seen. If you're ever headed to Croatia, or anywhere near it, this park is an absolute must on the list of things to do.

We came into the area late Monday night after driving in from Zagreb. The drive to the park is partially on the highway, and partially through the wooded, winding roads in mountainous areas, so I recommend to avoid driving at night if possible. We stayed the night in Rooms Imperial House and arose early Tuesday morning to head to the park before the crowds (around 8 am). We had a filling breakfast at our guest house, and headed out. The drive from our lodging was a quick 10 minutes, and the parking/ticket buying was all very straightforward.

 One of many waterfalls from a distance outside of the park

A teeny tiny baby scorpion 

The first boat that took us over one of the lakes

H and I had planned to spend the entire day in the park and had set around 4 pm as our designated time to leave by since we had to drive to Split after leaving the park (and were hoping to avoid round two of driving in the dark). We dressed very casually, in jeans and workout clothes- there isn't any kind of walking around the park that requires hiking gear or anything like that. I brought a small backpack with our waters and some money, as well as our camera, as we wanted to keep things as light as possible. 

 The view from our first boat ride

 Insanely clear waters + fish looking for food

 

The park itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is located about in the middle of Croatia. It's a 2.5 hour drive from Zagreb, and a 3 hour drive to Split. While that may make it sound like the park is doable as a day trip, I highly recommend spending the full day here. There is so much to see and walk through in the park, that we made it point to push through our tiredness (and my cold) to see as much as possible. The park (currently) consists of a series of 16 lakes that are connected by waterfalls, with a total of over 90 waterfalls in the entire park. The wooden walkways wind through the park, over lakes, and next to the waterfalls, making it an absolutely breathtaking experience. We went at the very end of April/beginning of May. The weather was perfect, and spring was in full effect.

 Gorgeous moss and greenery

 Note the water running literally right under the wooden walkway

 The water color varies based on the minerals and organisms in the water, as well as sunlight


 One of my favorite waterfalls from a distance


   
One of the great things about the pathways in the park was that there was a variety of different kinds. They ranged from almost completely flat to a very doable incline (coming from someone who very sparingly exercises in her free time).

 It was warming up to the point where the water looked incredibly inviting 




 I clearly couldn't get enough of the wooden walkways








Next came a part of the park that I actually had not known about prior to seeing it that day- the Supljara cave at the lower lakes. Amid the warning signs of potential bats in the cave and proceeding at our own risk, this giant sinkhole lured H and I into it's depths.



The subterranean cave opens up to the lower lakes 


 A view of the cave from the outside




 The tallest waterfall in the park- Veliki Slap


 
Schools of fish swimming upstream


By the end of the day, I was completely wiped and my fever + sore throat had finally caught up to me. We headed out of the park and down the mountainous roads (with the help of some friends through a WhatsApp group and YouTube videos showing H how to switch from automatic to manual while going down an decline) to Split. That night, I ended up getting really sick and spent the night convinced I had strep throat... but more on that in my next post on Split!

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