The Wonderful Lakes and Waterfalls of Plitvice in Croatia

The Plitvice National Park is a World Heritage Site. If you go to Croatia or an area nearby, I can recommend going to the park.

I was there a long time ago on vacation, more than 20 years ago, and one day I went on a guided tour with family through the Plitvice park.

Back then you could already walk through the park, but the walk had to be done mostly on wooden, at times slippery logs. From what I see on the pictures, the logs have been replaced. Now there are man-made wooden steps and bridges. Although the water will at times flow over the steps, it is a safe walk.

The park has sixteen large and smaller lakes on different plateaus, between mountains. From the mountains, and between the lakes, there are waterfalls. The lakes have beautiful colors, from turqoise to green and grey. The colours change constantly. The park is a natural habitat for many trees, plants, orchids, and wild animals, including bears.

The lakes are on the Plitvice plateau, between the mountains. The sixteen lakes are divided into upper and lower groups, and range from an altitude of 636 m to 503 m over a distance of approximately eight kilometers. The lakes cover an area of about two square kilometers.

In summer it is warm and sunny, in winter it often freezes and snows in Croatia. In winter, the cascades and lakes are most of the time frozen and there might be a thick layer of snow on the trees.

The official website of the park is on http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/ . A photo gallery is on http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/eng/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=80 , although as with any great natural environment, you really have to go there to enjoy it.

There are several restaurants and establishments in the park to enjoy a meal - the meals are regional dishes - and beverages after this walk.

The park is open all of the year. Opening hours in summer are from 7 am to 20 pm. And, you have to buy a ticket. This is to pay for the maintenance costs and personnel.

To get there, it is probably best to go on a guided tour if you do not have any means of transportation there. The closest train station is Vrhovine, which is 40 km away. There is a bus stop in walking range from the National park.