AS
BEAUTIFUL AS IT'S HARD TO SAY
The
second leg of our three-week adventure in Croatia, to visit Plitvice Lakes
National Park, was all Janet’s idea. I had never heard of Croatia’s most
popular tourist attraction, but then again, I was entirely focused on boating
through the Dalmatian Islands and then reconnecting with my friends from
Sarajevo after 35 years.
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| PLNP LOGO |
So far,
this trip has been everything I could have hoped for; we had explored the enchanting
walled city of Dubrovnik in the south and Split’s Diocletian’s Palace in the
north. The week long cruise with the aptly named Unforgettable Croatia cruise line had us
visiting islands like Mljet, Korcula and Hvar with convivial crew and
passengers alike. The Adriatic we slipped along was beautiful and swimming in
it daily was soothing. The wines were strong reds and delicate whites, some
native to one island, like Bogdanusa on Hvar, our favorite while there. The
brandies or grappa, we tasted, were appropriately intoxicating and often made in
someone’s personal still. And, the dramatic coastline of Croatia, soaring into
forbidding mountainous ranges was always far away, at the edge of the Adriatic.
It was here at the water where I wanted to remain.
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LOVE
I have to
admit that I was not thrilled when Janet expressed an interest to visit
Plitvice Lakes. It was taking me away from the Adriatic and cutting into my
time with my fiends Zeljko and Hana. We were going to spend time with them in
Trpanj on the Peljesac Peninsula and were promised sailing adventures in his
little boat, and more swimming and more wine, and still the rugged forbidding
coastline would remain far away across the bay.
But Janet
is the captain of our travels and had decided on this sideways excursion to
Plitvice Lakes. She had made my dream of cruising through the Dalmatian Islands
a reality and agreed to visit my friends, the least I could do was to “endure”
this side trip. What’s love got to do with it?
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ENDURING
BEAUTY
Plitvice
Lakes National Park is beautiful. Founded in 1949 and added to the UNESCO World
Heritage Register in 1979, PLNP is a series of 16 tiered lakes, little rivers
and waterfalls. The park encompasses nearly 74,000 acres and there are miles of
trails and wooden boardwalks leading visitors alongside and sometimes over the water
of the upper and lower areas of the park. The water is remarkably clear and the
colors range from teal to turquoise blue to emerald green with a myriad of
nuances. There is a lot of limestone and especially travertine in the area and
the flowing calcium carbonate rich water simultaneously erodes the limestone
and “grows” the travertine which is deposited, encrusting the mosses and plants
slowly growing natural dams, and the algae that thrive at Plitvice Lakes blooms
and releases gases as it decomposes and mixes with the mineral rich waters to
create a stunning palette of color that changes with the light and weather
conditions. PLNP is a unique, strikingly beautiful place.
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THE BUSINESS
OF BEAUTY
Understand
the science? I don’t, but that doesn’t matter. You can just come for the
beauty. In fact, PLNP should be a must-see destination for any visitor to
Croatia. Well, judging by the crowds that visit the park, everyone has the
exact same idea. It’s packed even at the early hour we entered the park. During
the summer months the crowds can be stifling. Over a million people visit PLNP
yearly and the daily entrance and even the hourly allotment for patrons is
limited. It’s strongly suggested to purchase tickets online at least 48 hours
in advance to be assured entry. Passes can be purchased at the park, but there’s
a risk it will be sold out for the day.
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When the
day or two-day pass is purchased online there are choices as to what is the preferred
entrance (1 or 2) and the time. We chose entrance 1 and the earliest time slot
available: 7:00-8:00. Depending on the season the park is open roughly from 7
am to 8 pm. Avoid midday for that’s when the tour buses arrive and the crowds
on the narrow boardwalks congeal. Also, prices for park passes and parking fluctuate
with the season. Our passes cost us 250 KN apiece, but drop in the fall and
winter. After 4 pm in July and August passes are also discounted to 150 KN. PLNP
is open all year round although in the winter months entrance 2 and the upper
lakes are closed. Here’s the official link to purchase passes and a dashboard
to see what is available for particular time slots.
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Entry to
the park is limited to the time slot awarded with just some leeway. Arrive later
than the allotted entry time and permission to enter the park may not be
granted, so factor in traffic jams. PLNP is a very very busy place. Once at the
park take the online voucher or receipt to the park office to trade it in for an
actual pass that is scanned at the entrance. Avoid our mistake of hiking from
the parking lot, over the pedestrian bridge and wait in line only to be sent
back. Once inside the park there’s a lot of hiking to see everything and there’s
no need to add unnecessary steps to this day.
HO HUM
MORE BEAUTY
There are
several well-marked trails that wind through the park that are 3km to
18km
long. We did the 8km “C” trail, starting at Entrance #1 and it took about 5
hours for us, but there is so much astonishing beauty that it could easily take
forever, even if the crowds weren’t factored in. Included in the entrance fee
is a scenic boat ride to the upper lakes portion and then near the end of the
trail a greatly appreciated tram ride.
After a long
while we began to wave a tired hand at the resplendent displays of prancing waters
and muttering jokingly “Oh Ho Hum… More beauty.” And, whenever the crowd
traffic got too heavy and we had to wait our turn on the narrow wooden boardwalk,
we welcomed the pause from hiking. Yet,
despite the hordes, people were polite and paused whenever someone needed to get
“that shot” Janet was asked several times by a couple that liked her camera
skills and she obliged every time.
The water
is clear and colorful and inviting, but there is no swimming allowed anywhere
in PLNP. Mists from the falls is the only respite from the heat, although there
are several places throughout the park to get something to eat or drink. Personal
food and drinks are not prohibited.
WHICH
WAY TO WINNETOU?
We started
at the lower lakes area and made our way first to Veliki Slap or Great Falls.
Yeah it was dramatic at 87 meters high and beautiful like everything else at
PLNP, but near Veliki Slap is a steep series of steps that lead not only to
vistas but an old filming location of German “Schnitzel” Westerns that involved
a much beloved character named Winnetou. German film crews used Plitvice Lakes as
a stand-in for American western backdrops and to this day it’s almost a Germanic
pilgrimage to visit these sites at PLNP.
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| COLORS OF PLNP |
Winnetou
was a fictional American Indian character created in a series of novels by Karl
May, one of the best-selling German authors of all time and the films are
hugely popular. There are evidently caves situated near the crest of this hilly
area that German visitors seek out. How do I know this? More than once huffing
and puffing climbers asked us, “caves? Caves?” We never found them, although we
only gave the area a perfunctory look over as this was the beginning of our day
at PLNP. We weren’t that interested and we had many rivers to cross.
If
interested you can pretty much watch EVERY Winnetou movie ever made on Youtube.
If you
can’t make it to PLNP in Croatia anytime soon, you can always go on a virtual
tour here, but be aware once you see this and all the pictures posted on this
entry, you’ll want to visit PLNP too.
PLITVICE
MIRIC INN
We rented
a car in Split to get PLNP and thanks to Janet’s smart phone we found a route
that was not on the major highway. It took us an extra hour or so, but the ride
along spectacular mountain ranges and numerous switchbacks and through little
towns was at a leisurely pace. We drove up to the area and stayed at Plitvice
Miric Inn for two nights, a few kilometers away from the park. Prices are higher
the closer to the park’s entrances, but the Miric Inn was a good price and offered
an incredible buffet breakfast of different meats cheeses, eggs, cereals breads
and sweets and good strong coffee. Their website says they have all organic produce
and can cater to vegetarians and gluten-free diets. If you stay at Miric you
will eat well, but don’t worry the calories will get burned off with all the
hiking in the park.
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| MIRIC INN BREAKFAST BUFFET |
English
was readily spoken by the friendly staff and we had our laundry done there. The
woman who did our laundry liked all my colorful Aloha shirts. We also had
dinner that first night at the Inn. For a very reasonable price and with a full
bottle of slivovitz proudly offered at the table by the owner who said he’d
made it himself, we had a traditional Croatian meal of Peka, a beef, lamb,
chicken and vegetable dish baked in a bell-shaped dome called ispod čripnje.
Janet planned
this flawless side-trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park. She rented the car,
plotted our route, found the Miric Inn. I’m just along for the ride.
Thanks for reading. There's much much more ahead in Croatia.
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