World Travel #2 - Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Hello dear friends. First, let me start off by saying that I am so excited to write about Plitvice Lakes National Park. In my opinion, is one of the places we all should have on our travel destinations list.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest national park in Croatia and one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe. It was founded in 1949, and is situated in the mountainous karst area of Croatia, very close to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Within the boundaries of this heavily forested national park, 16 crystalline lakes tumble into each other via a series of waterfalls and cascades. The lakes are all interconnected and follow the water flow. The mineral-rich waters carve through the rock, depositing tufa in continually changing formations. The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colors, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight. Clouds of butterflies drift above the 18km of wooden footbridges and pathways that snake around the edges and across the rumbling water.

There aren’t any airports close to the Plitvice Lakes but as most will usually take a trip to the Lakes as part of their holiday to Croatia, they are prepared to undertake a bit of travelling to appreciate the full beauty of this gorgeous park!

To give you an idea of how long it will take you to get there, here’s a brief list of bus journey times from various places in Croatia to the Plitvice Lakes: 

• from Varazdin: 4 hours but you only have one bus per day
• from Split: 4.5 hours
• from Zadar: 2 hours
• from Zagreb: 2.5 hours

Once you got there, it takes upwards of six hours to explore the lakes on foot, or  you can cut almost two hours off by using the park's free buses and boats which are departing every 30 minutes. 

You can catch the bus to the top of the upper lakes and wander back down to the shore of Kozjak, which is the park's largest lake (about 4km in length). A boat will whisk you from here to the lower lakes, where the circuit culminates in the aptly named Veliki Slap, the tallest waterfall in Croatia (78m).

Plitvice Lakes National Park is open year round, and while summer is the most popular time to visit, each season brings its own highlights. The frozen landscapes of winter are unforgettable, although boat trips won’t be possible while spring and autumn are ideal for photographers with fewer crowds, colorful foliage, and high water levels.

If you are asking where to stay in Plitvice Lakes, you don't have to worry... there are more and more accommodations around the national park. One of them is Villa Mukinja, which I can definitely recommend. 

To have even a better idea of what Plitvice Lakes are, take your time and watch this video:

In conclusion, are you thinking about visiting Croatia and most of all Plitvice Lakes for the first time? If so, you are about be charmed by some of the most beautiful countries on Earth! I will give you some more images which can prove my words. Have a great day!