Plitvice Lakes National Park – the best natural feature of Croatia
One of the absolute highlights when visiting Croatia is to visit the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is the oldest national park in southeast Europe, and the largest in Croatia. In 1979, it was added to the register of UNESCO World Heritage natural sites. It measures around 300 square kilometres and has sixteen stunning lakes that are turquoise blue in colour and interconnect via waterfalls and cascades. The lakes cover a distance of around eight kilometres.
As well as stunning natural scenery focused around the lakes and mountains, there is an abundance of wildlife in the park. If you are lucky, you may see bears and wolves, as well as foxes, badgers and deer. There’s a huge variety of bird species in the park including osprey, starlings, kingfishers and cuckoos.
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 1.2 million visitors come to enjoy the tranquillity and beauty of the park every year. There’s an entrance fee that goes towards the maintenance of the park. It’s around £10-£13 for adults depending on the time of year, and costs less for children aged 7-18. Children under 7 can enter the park without charge.
Croatia – Plitvice Lakes: Garden of Eden
There are guided tours that you can book when you first enter the park. These take around four hours. You can also take a boat ride on an electric-powered boat across the largest lake. Alternatively, there is a shuttle bus which will take you through certain sections of the park. There’s also a restaurant near Entrance 1 which serves traditional food from the Lika region of Croatia.
In order to keep the lakes in their pristine condition, there is no sporting activity permitted on the water, including swimming. However, you can follow the waters along wooden footbridges for 18km through the park.
Whatever time of year you choose to visit, Plitvice Lakes are beautiful. As well as the obvious snowy scenes in winter, the changing colour of the leaves in the autumn makes it a special time to visit.
Camping in the park
There are many hotels near to Plitvice Lakes National Park, but there are also two campsites located within the park itself. Camp Korana has 500 pitches and some bungalows for rent and is 7km from Entrance 1. Camp Borje is 15 km from Entrance 2. In the summer you’ll need only lightweight sleeping bags, but in the winter be prepared for really cold nights.
About the author: Giles is a keen traveller who enjoys writing about the places he has visited around the world. His likes the spontaneity of going on trips with friends where, apart from a starting point and travelling backpacks at the ready, they have no fixed plans.
