Plitvice Lakes – the highlight of Croatia
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is located halfway between Zagreb and Zadar – about 140 km from each city.
1. Park of different colors
The name “Plitvice” comes from the Croatian word plitvak or plitko meaning shallow, which indicates shallow pools of water. Plitvice Lakes National Park is actually 16 karst lakes connected with each other by waterfalls or water thresholds. The lakes are divided into upper and lower lakes and are located at an altitude of about 600 m above sea level. The largest lake is Kozjak Lake, on which ships sail.
Each lake is named after people or animals that, according to legends, drowned in its waters, for example Kozjak from 30 goats that drowned in the lake or Lake Milinovo from Mile Marić that drowned in the lake.
What makes this place special is that the color of the water in the lakes changes depending on the amount of sunlight or the amount of chemical compounds, and it can range from yellow to turquoise.
2. The highlight of Croatia
A national park was established in this area in 1949. However, in 1979 the place was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Since then, the Park has become more and more popular among tourists every year – in 2017, the Park was visited by about 1.7 million tourists. It is one of the most visited places in Croatia, next to Dubrovnik and Split.
3. Are there any trails ?
There are 2 entrances to the Park – marked as entrance 1 and entrance 2 – next to each of them there are parking lots, restaurants, toilets and cash desks. It is worth buying a map of the Park for 20 HRK.
There are 8 trails to choose from – 4 green trails lead from entrance 1 and 4 orange trails lead from entrance 2.
The following trails are available from the entrance No. 1:
A – the shortest, about 3.5 km (2 to 3 hours),
B – trail about 4 km (3 to 4 hours),
C – trail about 8 km (4 to 5 hours)
K- trail of 18.3 km (6 to 8 hours)
The following trails are available from the entrance no.2:
E- trail about 5 km (2 to 3 hours),
F- trail about 4.6 km (3 to 4 hours)
H- trail about 9 km (4 to 6 hours)
K- trail of 18.3 km (6 to 8 hours)
4. Maybe the C trail ?
We decided to take the trail C, which leads from the entrance no. 1. The trail starts from the viewing platform and then goes down to the largest waterfall, the so-called Veliki Slap (height 78 m, the largest in Croatia). Then by the so-called the lower lakes go to point P3, where there are restaurants, toilets and a souvenir shop.
From the P3 harbor, you go by electric ship across the largest lake in the Park – Kozjak Lake to the P2 harbor. Then you follow the footbridges through the so-called upper lakes to point St3. On the way you can see one of the most beautiful waterfalls – the Galovac waterfall. There are bars and restaurants and toilets at point St3 and from here buses (connected to each other and resembling a train) depart to point St1 (on the way the bus stops at point St 2, from where entrance 2 is close).
From the place marked as St1 along the road with viewpoints to the lakes below (this is where the best photos are taken), you reach the starting point, i.e. entrance No. 1.
Route C allows you to see both the so-called the lower and upper lakes and the whole can be covered in about 4 hours, including a break for refreshments.
The most interesting are the so-called upper lakes – there are the most waterfalls and thresholds, and the color of the water differs from lake to lake. The deepest lake is Kozjak Lake (49.5 m deep), and in general the lakes are located on average at an altitude of about 600 m above sea level and the difference in levels is about 130 m.
You cannot swim in the lakes and you cannot go down the marked paths. There are also caves in the park – the largest of them is Šupljara, 70 m long. All paths are marked and it is rather difficult to get lost in the park.
5. How to get there?
The best solution is to come by your own car – from the highway from Split, take the Plitvice exit in Gornja Ploća, and from Zagreb in Karlovac, take road no. 1. The cost of the highway from Split to Gornja Ploća is 84 HRK, and from Zagreb to Karlovac is 23 HRK. The waterfalls are located very close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (closest to Bihać). Parking at the entrance No. 1 and 2 costs 10 HRK for 1 hour – you can pay by card at the cash desk or at the parking meter.
You can also take a bus from Zagreb or Zadar. From Zagreb it is about 2h30 (tickets from 74 HRK), and from Zadar about 2 hours. Bus stops are located both at the entrance 1 and entrance 2.
6. What to eat there?
There are bars with food at points St 2 and P3 and at the entrances to the Park. In bars you can eat ham or cheese sandwiches (from 17 to 23 HRK), drink coffee with milk (12 HRK), chocolate (14 HRK) or water 0.5 l (14 HRK). Lunch is worth eating outside the Park, e.g. in the restaurant “Plitvićka Vrela” in Rakovica – tomato soup (20 HRK), spaghetti bolognese (50 HRK), ćevapčići with potatoes (70 HRK), Szopska salad (40 HRK), a glass of Croatian wine (20 HRK), a platter of pršut, cheese and sausage (60 HRK).
7. Where to sleep?
From the side of Zagreb, it is best to look for accommodation in Grabovac – the price of an apartment for 4 people with a kitchen is about 40-50 euro. If we are going from the coast, it is best to look for cheap accommodation in Jezerce or Korenica. The “House Sara” apartment in Korenica for 54 euro is highly recommended. You can book accommodation via booking.com, although the prices on the spot will be 10-15 euro lower.
8. It’s expensive, is it?
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office on site or via the Internet – https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/ In the case of online purchase, it should be done at least 1 day in advance and the ticket is bought for a given time (although no one checks it too much ). Ticket prices depend on the season – during the holidays, the price of an adult ticket was 200 HRK, and for a child aged 7 to 18 it was 70 HRK, and in October the price of an adult ticket is 90 HRK, and 25 HRK for children. Children under 7 enter for free. The ticket price includes all the attractions, including boat trips and bus transfers. It is best to buy tickets online, because often in the high season there are no vacancies for a given hour.
In conclusion, it is worth visiting the Plitvice Lakes National Park on the way to the Adriatic coast or returning home from vacation. It is also worth remembering that this is one of the few places of its kind in Europe – similar, but much smaller, there is only the Krka National Park in Croatia near Šibenik, the Una River National Park in Bosnia and the Krushuna Falls in Bulgaria.
