Day 7: Beautiful Plitvice Lakes (Croatia)

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After visiting the Dalmatian Coast - Split, Salona and Trogir, and spending the night near Trogir, we got up early to make the journey toward the beautiful Plitvice Lakes. The first stop along the way was Zadar to visit the sea organ. This is the only sea organ in the world, and the wind and waves from the sea go into holes along the water's side of the 'organ' and make strange and beautiful noises. The noises are more prominent in high tide and in the evenings when the sea is quieter. Visitors can sit on the steps and listen to the sea organ; outlet holes from the organ are on the steps and pavement, as in the photograph below.

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Outlet holes on the sea promenade, which form part of Zadar's sea organ.

Besides the sea organ, Zadar has ancient ruins and a cathedral and old city gates. Much of the town contains newer architecture, and the city contains modern shops to visit. After this quick visit to Zadar, the drive north to Plitvice Lakes was continued. By the time we arrived, we had half the day to look around the lakes, though I'd suggest taking almost a full day and taking the time to enjoy it instead of being rushed around. 

Plitvice Lakes are a UNSECO world heritage site, and it is well-maintained with different trails that can be walked. We managed to walk a trail called "H" (which was suggested to walk between four and six hours) in almost four hours. The trail started at the top of the lakes, which included a short bus ride to the top, and we walked down. Nature was admired along the walk - chirping/buzzing frogs, beautiful flowers and plants, snakes, birds, beautiful waterfalls, insects, and fish.

I visited the lakes in early May, which is the spring-summer season. I believe that these lakes would also be beautiful in the winter and the autumn.

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One of the maintained wooden walkways through marshland.

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A beautiful lake in the upper lakes, Plitvice Lakes. This is where I heard the 'buzzing' noise of frogs

Plitvice Lakes is well-maintained with several wooden walkways over the wet and low areas. This also helped visitors keep to the pathways to avoid eroding away the other areas. Each lake has a wooden sign next to the walkway, and the sign lists the name of the lake and its depth and width. 

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Another wooden walkway bends along the edge of a lake.

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Little waterfalls join one lake, above, to another lake below it.

Many of the lakes in Plitvice Lakes joined together over time as the upper-most lake waters swirled down the edge, eroding the rocks away and making the lake deeper and one end. Over time, this erodes the rock siding away, and eventually, two separate lakes become one with the upper-most lake joining the lower lake. Waterfalls between the lakes begin to form as this gradual process takes place. There are hundreds of small waterfalls and many larger ones in this beautiful natural park.

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A wooden walkway leads visitors around a bend to explore more surprising and beautiful lakes.

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I discovered these purple flowers in Plitvice Lakes; I'm not sure what they are called.

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I liked these the cotton-like puffy white plants; I'm not sure what they are called. 

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Crystal-clear lakes are perfect for reflections. This was one of the lakes in the upper lakes region of Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Once the upper lakes were visited on the trail, a boat (leaving every thirty minutes) ferries visitors from one side of a lake to another so visitors can view the lower lakes and see the larger waterfalls. Veliki Slap (the Great Waterfall) is the largest waterfall in Croatia, and it can be seen in this area of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. In addition to several waterfalls, the lower lakes also have a large cave and beautiful views from the trails as there are varying heights to this area.

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Large waterfalls in the lower lakes area of Plitvice Lakes.

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Clear waters expand the the distance of this lake, and Veliki Slap (the great waterfall) cascades down. Veliki Slap probably needed a little more rain to look more beautiful at this time; the rain fell the following day.

The pathways up the hill contained amazing views of the lower lakes, and this part of the trail led back to the finishing point where we would be getting the bus back to the car parking.

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One of the most popular views of Plitvice Lakes shows the photograph above (in different seasons) with a winding wooden walkway through clear lakes.

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The boat crosses Kozjak lake. This boat is arriving with passengers to the upper lakes while we travel down to the lower lakes.

After visiting the lakes, we drove back toward the bed and breakfast and had a meal at a small restaurant which operates as a ski lodge in the winter. The ski lifts could be seen out of the back of the restaurant. The pizza was delicious, and the restaurant was popular with locals. The buildings in this area of Croatia contrasted completely differently when compared with the stone buildings of the coast. The buildings in this area were wooden with pitched roofs. It is amazing how quickly the landscape changes within only a couple of hours driving.

I recommend visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park; it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to.

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2 Comments

We're dying to go Plitvice! So beautiful! This picture of it almost doesn't seem real: http://goo.gl/2yRl6. Thanks for the great account of your visit!

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  • jenn: Plitvice is one of the most beautiful places I have read more
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