As a matter of extraordinary luck, after a day of rain we awoke to a blue cloudless sky and perfect conditions for our day in the Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Villa Plitvice, Plitvica Selo
We ventured across the lawn for breakfast with our friendly restaurateur who immediately offered us slivovitz with our coffees. It made us imagine a new Kelloggs cereal line called “schnapps, crackle and pop!”
With several locals offering slightly differing instructions as to the best way to see the park we ended up being a little confused as to the preferred route. As it turned out it made no difference anyway as no matter whichever direction you head you are in a visual paradise.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is Croatia’s best known and most visited natural attraction. It covers an area of nearly 300km2 and entails 16 lakes cascading from the highest one at 637m through a fabulous sequence of gushing waterfalls to the lowest lake at 502m. To add to this amazing sight, the lakes are set in deep forests which we were told are inhabited by bears and wolves although we saw no hint of such wild-life.
Being autumn the beech, maple and holm oaks were at their colourful best with the forests around the lakes being a dazzling mixture of green, red, yellow, orange and bronze foliage. To add to the spectacle, yesterday’s rain had increased the water flow over the cascades and had left the leaves wet and in the morning sunshine the glistening colours were glorious.
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
After purchasing our entry tickets we headed for Veliki Slap which is the biggest waterfall in the park with a fall of 70m. Wooden paths meander along the river banks and in many places between the lakes the water flow splits into smaller streams all of which involve beautiful cascades into crystal clear pools inhabited by thousands of fish (carp) ranging in size from hatchlings to 30cm adults.
We climbed from the river up to a road where we caught a road train that transported us to the highest lake, Proscansko Jezero where the cascades commence. In glorious sunshine we followed a trail for about four kilometres and there were barely a few metres when we were not adjacent to a waterfall of some size. Most falls were only drops of 5-10m but they were frequently split into multiple cascades producing divided water curtains along a mossy bank.
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
The water is unbelievably clear due to the mosses and algae absorbing the calcium from the water and depositing it as white calciferous layer on the bottom and on submerged tree trunks and roots in the small ponds that interconnect the lakes.
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
The effect of wandering through this aquatic wonderland is hard to explain but it is akin to euphoria. The amount of moving water, the crystal clarity and the pale blue, emerald green and turquoise colours of the water make for a magic scene. In places the lakes seem as still and reflective as a mirror and elsewhere they run rapidly frothing through gullies and shooting out from fissures in the rocks. At one spot a stream that had divided from the main flow disappeared into a hole in the rocks at the base of a beech tree.
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
With this visual overload and boundless splendour we eventually decided it was time to stop for a brief lunch break and reflect on our luck with the weather and the idyllic conditions prevailing. The number of visitors to the park today was not so great that one felt uncomfortable and in many places along the pathway we were the only people to be seen. With there being thirty or so kilometres of paths around the lakes and three separate entry points it makes for minimal congestion even when large bus-loads of tourists arrive.
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes
In the later afternoon we caught a mini-ferry (there were several) that took us the length of Lake Kozjak back to where we’d started this wonderful journey some seven hours earlier.
For our evening meal we went to another restaurant associated with a small hotel next door. The food, wine, service and décor were all first class and despite the comparatively expensive meal we were all very pleased to have had this as a special final night as the six Aussies together until next time we gather in some unlikely corner of this planet. In addition we had a somewhat pre-emptory celebration of Chris’ birthday which occurs next week when we’ll all be in different countries.
As the final part of our Croatian holiday one must say that this visitation to Plitvice Lakes National Park has been an event that we’ll remember for many a year: yes, a truly spectacular day!