Six months of planning paved the way to one of our most anticipated destinations in the Balkans, and we somehow arrived without a place to stay for the night.
Imagine picking up an unfamiliar car just before the rental office closes and driving down a drizzly highway in the dark for two hours, before arriving at a tiny village with no street lights and learning that your vacation booking no longer exists. Needless to say this was the most nervous moment of our entire 22-day journey -- more nervous than getting dumped on the side of the highway in rural Albania.
Our would-be hosts were nearly as shocked as we were to learn that it was the booking website that carelessly cancelled our reservation in the aftermath of a credit card fraud. Fortunately our gracious hosts found a neighbour who had an empty suite available for the two nights, and we did end up with a bed to sleep on.
Getting to bed early was the plan ahead of a full day's hiking at one of Europe's premier national parks. Plitvice Lakes is Croatia's second most visited tourist attraction aside from the medieval city of Dubrovnik, and we were hoping to outpace the organized tour groups to the Upper Lakes before serious crowds start to show up.
By serious crowds I mean a couple million visitors per year, arriving from all corners of the world in admiration for Plitvice's pristine turquoise lakes and elegant waterfalls, cascading down natural terraces and stringing together 12 Upper and 4 Lower Lakes along a dramatic limestone canyon. As one of Europe's greatest natural wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, line-ups are to be expected everywhere from ticket booths to shuttle bus stations to prime selfie spots at the waterfalls.
So we purposely bypassed the busy Entrance 1 and parked our car at Entrance 2, walking down to the ST2 shuttle bus station around 09:15 for a short ride to the farthest shuttle bus station at the top of the Upper Lakes. Our plan involved traveling the full length from the southern end of the park to the northern end on foot and by ferry in about 7 hours, then taking a shuttle back to ST2 before the park closed at 17:00.
While the national park does offer a multitude of official trails labelled A to K ranging from 3.5 to 18 km, we chose none of the above and combined ideas from different trails for a route customized for our own abilities, 7.5 km in length with mild elevation gains while incorporating Plitvice's most renowned viewpoints.
09:35. Our hike would start from shuttle bus station ST4 on the shore of Proscansko Lake, gradually traveling downhill between Proscansko and Ciginovac Lakes and generally hugging the western shores of the Upper Lakes.
09:55. Perfect time to appreciate the tranquility of the Upper Lakes in the absence of crowds, as we strolled the western edge of Okrugljak Lake and reached the twin lakes of Veliko and Malo Jezera.
10:15. The crystal blue waters of Galovac Lake perfectly illustrates the uncanny similarities between Plitvice Lakes and the equally spectacular Jiuzhaigou situated halfway around the world. Both feature gorgeous turquoise lakes and terraced waterfalls set in limestone canyons, though Plitvice sits among lush forests in the Western Balkans while JZG perches on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
11:00. Inevitably we had our first encounter with major crowds at the famous Veliki Prštavac waterfall, situated at the southern end of Gradinsko Lake where a half dozen smaller falls cascade down the limestone edges from the upstream lake of Galovac.
Third largest among Plitvice's sixteen lakes, Galovac Lake terminates at its northeastern end with a natural barrier of travestine pools, culminating in the 16m tall complex of waterfalls at Galovački Buk.
11:30. Sedimentary chalk deposits at the the bottom of Gradinsko Lake combine with algae and particles in the mineral-saturated waters to generate various shades of green in the sunlight.
12:05. Moss and algae faciliate the accumulation of calcium into dams of limestone over thousands of years, creating countless little waterfalls such as this pictured at Burgeti Lake.
12:15. It was our lucky day as we only had to wait for two sailings before boarding the small electric boat crossing Kozjak Lake from P2 to P3. The massive queue in the opposite direction confirmed our suspicion that the majority of visitors entered through Entrance 1 and started at the Lower Lakes in the morning, before funneling towards the Upper Lakes in the afternoon.
In the course of more waterfalls along the lakeshore, crossing the largest lake in Plitvice took just 10 minutes followed by a quick lunch of sausages and fries from the concession stand. The only thing that wasn't quick was the men's washroom queue which was somehow hijacked by a sizeable group of senior ladies.
13:30. The next hour's hiking stood out IMHO as the best of Plitvice Lakes, a half dozen of the national park's iconic viewpoints all packed into a short 1.6 km of relatively easy trails. Our afternoon would start from the picnic grounds at P3, taking the uphill road at the fork and reaching a cliff edge viewpoint over the stunning Milanovački Slap waterfall between Kozjak and Milanovac Lakes.
13:45. Dazzling blue waters reflect the midday sun at the bottom of the precipitous limestone canyon cleaved open by the series of Lower Lakes. Blissful visitors along the path may not realize the presence of landmines in the area during the Yugoslav Wars, when the first casualty on the Croatian side happened here at Plitvice.
14:00. Our cliff edge trail continued north towards the end of the Lower Lakes, joined on the side by the national park's tallest waterfall and emptying into the Korana River that would eventually become part of the meandering Danube. Most visitors would naturally follow the stairs down to the bottom of Veliki Slap, and missing arguably the most magnificent panorama of the Plitvice Lakes.
14:20. This is it -- the world-famous viewpoint of Plitvice Lakes that the government does NOT want people to know about, as it remains accessible without a national park ticket as of 2019. For readers planning a trip to Plitvice, the viewpoint is situated on the northern cliffs (see map) above Veliki Slap, accessed via a small trail from the vehicle road just north of the small bridge.
14:40. After the viewpoint we backtracked to the bridge and hiked down to the bottom of the uninspiredly named Veliki Slap, or Big Waterfall, where we rejoined the hordes of organized tours crossing to the opposite shore of the Lower Lakes. We're now nearing the end of our easy 7.5 km hike, taking less time than planned despite our constant photo stops.
15:15. Bidding the sparkling blue lakes farewell, we took the shuttle bus from the chaotic ST1 and returned to ST2 to pick up our rental car. By 16:00 we're back at the apartment that we were fortunate to be put up at the previous night, in time for a quick nap before going out for a dinner that I frankly had very low expectations for. I had learned my lessons over the years of what to expect at a tourist restaurant in a touristy town.
But I was wrong.
Restaurant Review: RESTORAN DEGENIJA (Plitvice Lakes) (Location Map)
This modest hotel-restaurant smashed my strongest presumptions about lackluster and overpriced food at national parks. Granted this is a couple kilometres outside park boundaries, but repeat clients are probably rare in a small town that sees a million guests passing through every year. As a result I was almost expecting a ruinous dry piece of meat when I ordered the classic dish of Roasted Veal under the Peka, except it arrived perfectly succulent and fork tender as one would expect anywhere else in Croatia.
But the real surprise was my wife's plate of Grilled Pork Neck, well-charred, deliciously chewy and flavoursome especially with a drizzle of the spiced olive oil. This might have been our favorite dish in any national park in any country, with the notable exception of the magical Miyajima in Japan.
Meal for Two Persons
| Mushroom Soup | 23 Kuna |
| Roasted Veal Under the Peka | 115 Kuna |
| Grilled Pork Neck with Vegetables | 85 Kuna |
| Bottle of Water | 25 Kuna |
| TOTAL | 248 Kuna (CAD$50.6) |
Special thanks to our friends at House Marija and our hosts at Apartman Majetić who collectively came to our rescue on that disastrous night of arrival. For readers looking for a clean and functional apartment three minute's walk from the village supermarket, search up these two apartments a 5 minute drive (or taxi) north of the national park entrance.
So was it necessary to rent a car for Plitvice National Park? Perhaps it wasn't a necessity with the myriad of B&Bs and hotels within walking distance of either Entrance 1 or 2, but it allowed us the freedom to spend an afternoon at Zadar prior to arrival, and to efficiently reach our next destination in Istria on the morning of departure. The alternative of various bus connections, especially from Plitvice to Rovinj or worse Motovun, would have cost a day and a half out of our sightseeing itinerary.
After our brush with catastrophe I double checked the booking site for all our upcoming reservations, ensuring that we won't be cancelled again as we took our car north into the Istrian Peninsula. It did turn out to be a memorable 36 hours at Plitvice Lakes, and for the right reasons fortunately.
IF YOU GO
Plitvice Lakes is well-connected by highway buses from Zagreb (2.5 hours) and Zadar (2 hours), stopping at both Entrance 1 and 2 of the national park. Connecting with Rovinj or Pula in Istria is possible via buses passing through Karlovac en route to Zagreb, but would likely take the full day. Rental car is really the best option for an onward journey into Istria, trust me.
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