The image we saw of Plitvice (justthetravel.com) When Remy and I started planning this trip we made a long list of countries we wanted to visit. We slowly whittled the list down, but Croatia stayed on there. We have both heard good things about the country, but the real pull was a picture we saw. It was these gorgeous waterfalls and lakes at Plitvice Lakes National Park.
And, we heard it was rather inexpensive to travel in Croatia. So Croatia was the first country we were going to spend significant time in. After our unexpected stopover in Trieste, Italy we headed by bus to Rijeka, Croatia. Crossing the border from Italy to Croatia was our second interaction with the authorities. When we got to the border someone came on the bus and collected the passports of everyone that was not Croatian or from the European Union, which included me (not Remy since he is traveling on his French passport). I handed over my Canadian passport (that's the one I'm doing most of my travel on because visas are typically cheaper. Thanks Dad!). After a few minutes the bus driver came back on asking for me. I had to get off the bus and go see the border agent. He asked how I entered Europe and then I remembered my entrance to Paris. When I got off the plane I went through customs and they looked at my passport and sent me through. I then collected my bag and thought I would have to go through a final check, but when the sliding doors opened I was out in the main part of the airport. I thought it was weird that they didn't stamp my passport, but then maybe that is just the way the French do it. I should have thought listened to my gut. Anyway, luckily I had all the details of when I flew into Paris and the border agent was nice. He told me to make sure that my passport always gets stamped, gave me a Croatia stamp, and sent me on my way.
After that it was rather uneventful. In Rijeka we switched to another bus to Karlovac and then a final switch to a bus going to Plitvice. This last bus was completely full so Remy and I had to stand, which ended up not being too bad since we had been sitting the whole day. On that last bus ride I noticed that many of the houses either looked freshly painted or had what looked like bullet holes. When we planned to visit Croatia it didn’t cross my mind that this country was at war not that long ago. I remember watching news coverage on TV when I was in high school. I didn't remember too much about it so I did a little research. Here's a little history so if you’re not interested or already know please skip this next paragraph.
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995. This was when Croatia declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and tried to kick out the Serb forces within Croatia. Croatia sought independence, but Serbia wanted to stop it because the Serbs were looking to expand their state and wanted to include lands within the Croatian borders. The Serbs tried to conquer as much land as possible and eventually the whole country. The Serb rebels did extensive shelling in Croatia and Yugoslav forces attacked major cities, including Karlovac, the one we drove through. I was extremely surprised to learn at the beginning of the war Croatia didn’t have much of a military and the police were taking the brunt of the fighting. In addition, there was little access to weapons so Croatian forces were either unarmed or using rifles from WWII. But they were motivated to defend their new country and eventually, both Serbia and Yugoslavia were defeated and Croatia gained its independence. For more information click here. Today there continues to be tensions between Croatia and Serbia, as seen in this article. I found it very interesting to be in a country that had been ravaged by war so recently and except for some of the homes it was hard to see other signs of war.
After that it was rather uneventful. In Rijeka we switched to another bus to Karlovac and then a final switch to a bus going to Plitvice. This last bus was completely full so Remy and I had to stand, which ended up not being too bad since we had been sitting the whole day. On that last bus ride I noticed that many of the houses either looked freshly painted or had what looked like bullet holes. When we planned to visit Croatia it didn’t cross my mind that this country was at war not that long ago. I remember watching news coverage on TV when I was in high school. I didn't remember too much about it so I did a little research. Here's a little history so if you’re not interested or already know please skip this next paragraph.
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995. This was when Croatia declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and tried to kick out the Serb forces within Croatia. Croatia sought independence, but Serbia wanted to stop it because the Serbs were looking to expand their state and wanted to include lands within the Croatian borders. The Serbs tried to conquer as much land as possible and eventually the whole country. The Serb rebels did extensive shelling in Croatia and Yugoslav forces attacked major cities, including Karlovac, the one we drove through. I was extremely surprised to learn at the beginning of the war Croatia didn’t have much of a military and the police were taking the brunt of the fighting. In addition, there was little access to weapons so Croatian forces were either unarmed or using rifles from WWII. But they were motivated to defend their new country and eventually, both Serbia and Yugoslavia were defeated and Croatia gained its independence. For more information click here. Today there continues to be tensions between Croatia and Serbia, as seen in this article. I found it very interesting to be in a country that had been ravaged by war so recently and except for some of the homes it was hard to see other signs of war.
Because I was standing on the bus it was hard to get a picture of the homes, but this is what they looked like. This is a picture of bombardment damage in Osijek. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Osijek-2.JPG)
Back to our adventure. We finally made it to Plitvice, literally to the park. This was unfortunate because our hostel was in a small town, Grabovac, about 11 kilometers away. We spoke to the security guard and he told us that there is no public transportation from the park, rather inconvenient, and taxis are expensive. When we mentioned where we were staying he smiled, turns out he is friends with the owner of the hostel so he gave them a call and they came and picked us up. We stayed at House Osana, which is a very nice place. The family has turned part of their house into a guesthouse. It was simple, but clean with a big bathroom. The other plus was that we were able to cook in the owner's kitchen, which was great because there are limited options for eating out and it is very expensive. Many homeowners have converted their homes into guesthouses, so travelers there won't be surprised to be greeted by homes with signs advertising rooms for rent or by the proprietors themselves at the bus stations.
After dropping off our bags we headed into town to get ourselves oriented. This did not take very long since town consists of about 5 buildings. There are two tiny markets with very limited selection and one of them was closed. We went to the open one and picked up supplies for our meals for the next few days and a local beer to celebrate finally making it to Croatia. We also got the shuttle schedule to get to the park the next day. Back at the hostel we sat on the balcony overlooking the mountains and relaxed for a while. Then we cooked dinner and got ready for our first day at the park.
We woke up early and had a leisurely breakfast on our balcony and then headed into town to catch the shuttle. When we got to the park a long line to buy tickets had already formed. We got a 2-day pass and headed into the park. As soon as you walk into the park there is a grand view of some of the lakes and waterfalls. Two things entered my mind:
1) This is more beautiful than the pictures. The lakes are amazing colors and the water is so clear.
2) There were TONS of people!
After dropping off our bags we headed into town to get ourselves oriented. This did not take very long since town consists of about 5 buildings. There are two tiny markets with very limited selection and one of them was closed. We went to the open one and picked up supplies for our meals for the next few days and a local beer to celebrate finally making it to Croatia. We also got the shuttle schedule to get to the park the next day. Back at the hostel we sat on the balcony overlooking the mountains and relaxed for a while. Then we cooked dinner and got ready for our first day at the park.
We woke up early and had a leisurely breakfast on our balcony and then headed into town to catch the shuttle. When we got to the park a long line to buy tickets had already formed. We got a 2-day pass and headed into the park. As soon as you walk into the park there is a grand view of some of the lakes and waterfalls. Two things entered my mind:
1) This is more beautiful than the pictures. The lakes are amazing colors and the water is so clear.
2) There were TONS of people!
Overlooking the boardwalks that wind through the lakes.
Here is a little background on the park. Plitvice Lakes National Park was Croatia’s first and largest national park and established in 1949. The park is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The park is known for the lakes that have distinctive colors ranging from azure to green to grey to blue. The colors of the lakes are constantly changing depending on the quantity of minerals and organisms in the water and the angle of the sunlight. There are 16 lakes, which are formed by natural dams of travertine. Brace yourself; I’m going to get a little dorky science here since I find this pretty interesting. Anyway, these dams are created by a special process and form waterfalls where the water flows from one lake into the next. Under certain conditions calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is extracted from the water and deposited on the bottom of the lake. The depositions are continually growing and are chalky, hard, porous, and fragile limestone and full of the remains of microscopic and petrified masses. These growing depositions are called sedra, travertine, tufa, bigar, or vapneni macak. The supersaturation of water by calcium salts is the basic condition for travertine to be created, but the water has to be clean and must not contain high concentrations of organic substances. If you go further down the Korana River (the one that flows through Plitvice Lakes National Park) travertine formations end quite quickly, even though the water is super saturated with calcium salts. This is because there is an increase in the concentration of organic substances in the water. In addition to the lack of organic substances in Plitvice there are also plants that are travertine forming. The algae and bacteria that live on the shoots of the mosses in the Park secret mucus that the first microcrystals of calcite adhere to and then very quickly other microcrystals are deposited on top and this creates travertine. This process needs a warm and humid climate so travertine is created much faster during the summer than in the winter.
What does all this mean? No swimming! If people were allowed to swim it would introduce organic substances, which would inhibit the process. Also, swimming would mix up the deposits on the bottom of the lake disrupting the travertine formation process and make the water cloudy so the lakes wouldn’t be as clear or beautifully colored. I respect this, but on a hot day those clear, cold waters looked so enticing.
Once we were completely enthralled at the first overlook we hiked down the path to the boardwalks in between the lakes and waterfalls. These were very nice raised boardwalks, but it was a little tricky to maneuver around all the people and stop and take pictures. We spent the morning wandering the boardwalks and taking way too many photos. If you look at the gallery of pictures from Plitvice be prepared to see lots of waterfalls and lakes. Eventually, we ended up next to a small waterfall and found a nice log to have our lunch on. After lunch we continued walking around the lakes and before we knew it it was time to head back to the park entrance to catch the shuttle back to town.
What does all this mean? No swimming! If people were allowed to swim it would introduce organic substances, which would inhibit the process. Also, swimming would mix up the deposits on the bottom of the lake disrupting the travertine formation process and make the water cloudy so the lakes wouldn’t be as clear or beautifully colored. I respect this, but on a hot day those clear, cold waters looked so enticing.
Once we were completely enthralled at the first overlook we hiked down the path to the boardwalks in between the lakes and waterfalls. These were very nice raised boardwalks, but it was a little tricky to maneuver around all the people and stop and take pictures. We spent the morning wandering the boardwalks and taking way too many photos. If you look at the gallery of pictures from Plitvice be prepared to see lots of waterfalls and lakes. Eventually, we ended up next to a small waterfall and found a nice log to have our lunch on. After lunch we continued walking around the lakes and before we knew it it was time to head back to the park entrance to catch the shuttle back to town.
It was nice to have the 2-day pass because the second day we already knew the lay of the park and were prepared with a plan for second day. Plus we got to skip the long line and head right into the park. We wanted to get off the main trails and explore a little more of the park. As we hiked to the north part of the park towards the trails we found a boardwalk that we had missed the day before. If you go definitely don’t miss the path between Lake Gradinsko and Lake Galovak. There is a magnificent set of waterfalls that are captivating. Why is it that we love to stare at water pouring over rocks and the higher it is the more mesmerizing it is?
One of the many small waterfalls in the park.
One of the large waterfalls between Lake Gradinsko and Lake Galovak.
Once we got to the north end of the park we found the trail that heads into the surrounding mountains and let us explore more ecosystems. It was a nine-kilometer hike and it went through dense forests, meadows, and small villages. It was a nice contrast to the day before where there were tons of people and on the hike we saw maybe 5 people. The first part is a steep uphill climb and it was extremely hot, but at least it was well shaded. We were a little disappointed because we didn’t get to see the Eurasian brown bear, but didn’t really expect that we would get to see one. Even without seeing a bear I highly recommend this hike.
On our way back into the main part of the park we looked for a way to access the set of waterfalls always pictured (the one we saw), but we had no luck. We think that they are no longer available for tourists to visit. All the paths that lead to them were blocked off. So we enjoyed a little bit more of the lakes and waterfalls and caught the shuttle back to our hostel.
The uphill trail through the forest.
When we got back to town we grabbed a beer for a private happy hour on our balcony. We were amazed to find a 2-liter of beer in what looked like a soda bottle. So of course we had to get it.
Our last day in the Plitvice area was short since we needed to catch a bus, but we wanted to find the swimming hole. When we got picked up the day we arrived the hostel owner stopped along the road to pick up another couple. We noticed that it seemed they had been swimming. We couldn’t ask the hostel owner because his English was very limited. So we decided to walk along the road until we found it. It took us about an hour to find it walking along a busy road in the hot sun, but that made it even more enjoyable when we did get down to the river. It was SO cold. Remy jumped in with no hesitation and I followed after pumping myself up. It was so cold that when you hit the water it took your breath away. There are two small waterfalls that you could jump off into the pools below. It seemed like a secret place. There were only a few other people there. We marveled at the older couple that had a house right on the river and what seemed to be their own private swimming hole. We swam around for a bit and cooled off. It was amazing! And to top it off we found a wild blackberry bush and were able to grab some delectable fruit before we had to make the long, hot walk back to town to catch the bus. It was stunning and refreshing. We could have spent the whole day there.
Remy jumping off one of the waterfalls at the swimming hole.
Moral of the story: if you ever have the chance to visit Plitvice, do it! It is a gorgeous place.
Tips:
1) Rent a car. The buses are expensive and they charge to put your luggage below. So with two people it probably would have been cheaper to just rent a car to get there.
2) If you don’t rent a car stay at the accommodations within the park.
3) There is a campground in Grabovac. We didn’t stay there, but there seemed to be a lot of people there and it would have been nice to meet other people.
4) The park opens early and closes late so having a rental car would really help. When I booked the hostel in Grabovac I read that there was a shuttle from town to the park. What it didn’t say was that the shuttle left town at 9am and picked you up from the park at 3pm. That is a short day, at least for us. If you had a car you could go on your own schedule and even leave in the heat of the middle of the day and return in the afternoon.
5) The markets in town are expensive so it would be good to load up on groceries in a bigger town before you come to Plitvice or have a car so that you could find a bigger, probably cheaper super market than those in Grabovac.
6) Stay for two days! Many people just go in for one day and see the main lakes and waterfalls, but there is a lot more to see, especially on the trails around the main attractions. You can use one day to see the main sites and the other to explore the parts off the beaten path.
Click here to see more pictures.
JG
Tips:
1) Rent a car. The buses are expensive and they charge to put your luggage below. So with two people it probably would have been cheaper to just rent a car to get there.
2) If you don’t rent a car stay at the accommodations within the park.
3) There is a campground in Grabovac. We didn’t stay there, but there seemed to be a lot of people there and it would have been nice to meet other people.
4) The park opens early and closes late so having a rental car would really help. When I booked the hostel in Grabovac I read that there was a shuttle from town to the park. What it didn’t say was that the shuttle left town at 9am and picked you up from the park at 3pm. That is a short day, at least for us. If you had a car you could go on your own schedule and even leave in the heat of the middle of the day and return in the afternoon.
5) The markets in town are expensive so it would be good to load up on groceries in a bigger town before you come to Plitvice or have a car so that you could find a bigger, probably cheaper super market than those in Grabovac.
6) Stay for two days! Many people just go in for one day and see the main lakes and waterfalls, but there is a lot more to see, especially on the trails around the main attractions. You can use one day to see the main sites and the other to explore the parts off the beaten path.
Click here to see more pictures.
JG
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