CROATIA - Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest national park in Croatia. It was founded in 1949 and listed in UNESCO World Heritage register in 1979. The beauty of the National Park lies in its 16 interconnected crystalline lakes and a series of waterfalls, set in deep woodland. The lakes are definitely a must-see in Croatia. Located roughly halfway between Zagreb and Zadar, most people usually depart from these two cities to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park.



I stayed overnight at Bramado for one night so that I could beat the crowd and visit Plitvice Lakes National Park early in the morning.



It’s a nice private accommodation. My room is at the ground floor. But the ground floor room only has fan and has no air conditioning, only the upper room has. But no worries, it was really cool at night.



You can have your breakfast outdoor.





Had a cup of coffee at the front terrace of my room before departing.



The National Park is open daily all year round. During summer, the opening period is longer (7am to 8pm).



There are two entrances to the National Park. Entrance 1 is for the lower lakes while Entrance 2 is for higher lakes. We chose to enter through Entrance 1. Entrance 2 is usually closed in winter (November to April).



Park map.





It cost 180 Kuna (24 Euro) per adult, 80 Kuna per children and 110 Kuna for students. Children under age 7 go free.





There are 4 trails to chose from: A is the shortest routes, it takes 2-3 hours to complete, B takes 3-4 hours, C take 4-6 hours and K is the longest route, it takes 6-8 hours. We took the B trail.



This is the first sight that greeted me – beautiful waterfalls cascading down the cliff.



Then I headed down the winding gravel path to reach the wooden walkways to cross the lakes.





Crossing the wooden walkways across the lake.



The lower lakes canyon. Calcium deposits that have been accumulating at the bottom of the lakes, as well as sunken objects, create natural barrier that rise above water level called tufa or travertine.



Little waterfalls besides the wooden walkway.



There are signs along the way showing the direction of different paths.





My first stop is the Veliki Slap (Large Waterfall), the tallest waterfall in Croatia.



I could even see rainbow over the waterfall.



After that, I continued to walk on the wooden walkway and enjoyed the scenery of the lakes.



Just beautiful!



The are plenty of small waterfalls along the way.



This is the entrance to Supljara Cave. Supljara is an underground cave habitat with a specific environment.







Crystal clear lake water reflecting the canyon like a mirror.



A plate dedicated to Milka Ternina who was a famous Croatian opera singer. These waterfalls were named after her in 1898.





My son enjoying the walk too.






And this waterfall is named after Milka Ternina as mentioned earlier.






Heading towards the shore of Kozjak, the park’s largest lake (about 4km in length).





There’s a souvenir shop and some restaurants at the shore of Kozjak.



Some of the shops were not even opened as I was early that morning.



Kozjak lake.







Ducks around the lake.




The boat departs every 30 minutes from April to October.



The boat service is free but you have to keep your entrance ticket because they will stamp it at the boat interchanges.





This is the only island in Kozjak lake. We got off the boat shortly after that.



We’re now at the upper lakes. This waterfall is called Galovacki buk.







A cluster of small waterfalls at the upper lake.









Stopping for a short break on the bench.







I’ve now reached the Galovac lake.





Next, I’m heading to catch a bus back to Entrance 1.





Cascades down moss covered stone.







Free shuttle bus service, yay!







After getting off the bus, we still have hike some distance before returning to Entrance 1 but I have no complaints as there were plenty of nice photo opportunities like this one.



And this is one of my favourite shot.





One last look to the mesmerizing beauty of Plitvice Lakes. We took around 4.5 hours to complete the tour while it would normally take 4 hours because my hubby needed to carry our son most of the time.



This is the poster picture of the park.



As I was leaving the park, there was a long queue outside the ticket office. Guess we made the right choice of visiting the park as early as possible. Next, we headed to Zadar.



One word of advice, come as early as possible! I came just before the opening time and avoided the crowd. So, what do I think about the park? The National Park of Plitvice sure is beautiful but I wouldn’t say it is spectacular.