A splendor in the midst of nature: this was my thought once I reached the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
Rivers, lakes and waterfalls framed by a luxuriant wood of beeches, white firs, mountain maples and elms frequented by European brown bears, lynxes, wolves, deer, roe deer, otters, badgers and martens.
We are in Croatia in one of the largest karst complexes in the world: almost 300 square kilometers of lakes at different heights fed by underground springs and two rivers and connected by a series of waterfalls.
The beauty of the park can be admired thanks to 18 km of paths with wooden walkways that give the feeling of walking on water divided into itineraries of different duration and difficulty:
- Route A starts at entrance 1. About 3 and a half kilometers, you can do it in 3 hours (of course, keep in mind that admiring the place is pleasantly time-consuming!). It allows you to see the Veliki Slap, that is the great Waterfall, the most impressive one not only of Plitvice but of the whole Croatia, with its 70 meters. Going upstream you cross the gorge of the Donja jezera (Lower Lakes), along the lakes Novakovića brod, Kaluđerovac, Gavanovac and Milanovac. In the final part there is a refreshment point from which to go up the eastern slope of the gorge, returning to the starting point, ie the entrance 1.
- Route B also starts and ends at entrance 1: 4 kilometers, about 4 hours for the journey. Compared to the previous one, it provides for navigation by electric ferry to the largest lake, Lake Kozjak, a panoramic train ride and a walk over the eastern part of the gorge and then ending at entrance 1.
- The C route is my favorite: 8 kilometers for about 6 hours of walking. Also circular, departure and arrival from entrance 1, provides for the view of both the lower lakes and the upper ones, in a combination of walking and navigation with the electric ferry, with the return with the panoramic train. In addition to the Great Waterfall, you can also admire the Veliki prštavac, 28 meters and many other smaller but certainly no less impressive waterfalls.
- Route E, starting and finishing at entrance 2, is 5 kilometers long, lasting about 3 hours. You can see the upper lakes, there is navigation on the Kozjak Lake, you return with the panoramic train.
- Route H starts at entrance 2: 9 kilometers and takes about 6 hours. Here too, a mix of walking, a scenic train and a trip on the Kozjak lake with the electric ferry.
- The two K routes allow you to cover the entire park and are both 18 kilometers long, to be done in a day. One starts at entrance 1 one at entrance 2 and allows you to see the beauty of the park in a single itinerary, also taking advantage of the electric ferry and the panoramic train.
Never Stop Exploring!