Perhaps the most stunning place in this small and often ignored country is Plitvice Lakes. Located in Central Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes are known for its sixteen terraced lakes, limestone canyons, eighty-foot waterfall, and endless hiking trails. One could spend days wandering around this vast and majestic National Park and still never see all that it has to offer.
If you are planning a trip to Croatia , or nearby countries, then hitting up the Plitvice Lakes is an absolute must. When visiting the park, here is what you can expect to enjoy. Bring your camera, because the gorgeous photos taken by tourists prove this area of the world is second to none. For nature lovers and adventure types, there is no better place to explore than a waterfall. Unique waterfalls guarantee spectacular sights that tourists will remember for the duration of their lifetime.
Plitvice Park has several waterfalls, but the biggie is called Veliki Slap, and it extends some seventy-eight meters high. Found at the end of the lower lakes, it is truly something to behold.
Carve out plenty of time to gaze upon this masterpiece. First a crag is formed but later a cave roof forms under the crag. If the water continues flowing, the cave becomes progressively bigger.
Older travertine is filled with fossilized algae and mosses. Source: Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia , the Plitvice Lakes are different because they do not represent separated, stationary waters. The lakes are always been seen as one composed system of lakes.
Due to constant changes it is not even possible to pursue individual analyses of single lakes. The water masses reaching the lakes at the upper or lower part of the system are continuously changing the outlook of the lakes and the surrounding landscape. They finally exit the lakes as river Korana. On the one hand, chalk tufa is being washed away partly. On the other hand, new sediments are continuously being formed.
Thus, new waterfalls are being formed while others run dry. Nature itself is continuously adapting to these new conditions. As a whole, the complex of lakes represents a very sensitive and labile ecosystem. Hope you enjoyed the post — thought it would be a good start to explain the science behind the Plitvice Lakes. The Wikipedia page included a string of formulas on tufa formation, but I thought it would be a tad much for a blogpost.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make for great holiday destinations. The directions were straightforward but the only thing I got confused about was the 2 minute boat ride from Entrance 2. But for the last one, I thought I would immediately see it after I turned onto the path. However, because no one else was on the secret path, I thought I was going the wrong way!
After hesitantly continuing on, I found some others and was relieved to finally reach the beautiful viewpoint. Thank you again for such great tips! I truly appreciate it! Best of luck with your travels! Hi, Connie! Thank you soooo much for your nice comment and for the useful information, I have updated the last step with your suggestion — I am sure this will help other travelers as well! Thanks so much for the advice regarding the secret spot, it was helpful!
While I was looking for the spot, I asked a couple who just turned around because they got confused on this fork road. Hi, Carol! You are welcome! Thank you so much for the nice words and for the indication, I have updated the article with the step suggested by you! Is it possible to visit the park as a wheelchair user. My partner uses the wheelchair so we are well used to getting so far and then he waits while I go and explore the parts the chair can not get to.
Hi, Pauline! Even though Plitvice Lakes is not veeery wheelchair-friendly, it can still be visited. For example — The Great Waterfall one of the main attractions of the park can be seen soon after you enter Plitvice Lakes using Entrance 1, so this is totally doable. There is also a bus that can take you on a panoramic ride in some parts of the park.
You can find more information about this subject, as well as a guide on how to see as many things in the park with a wheelchair here. Hope this helps and have a safe travel! We are planning a trip to Croatia and would like your help in planning…We are in Germany Essen and We would definitely like to Visit Plitvice lakes…We are around 5 adults and 1 Infant at the Moment.
We like to Visit in the Month of June. Either between 6th June to 10th June. Can you please recommend Hotels With Kitchen Prefered to stay? Because you are traveling in a group, I think renting a house or an apartment in Plitvice would be the best idea for you. This way you will be staying in the same place, even though you will have different rooms. Here are my recommendations: Holiday Park Fenomen Plitvice — different options that you can choose from chalet, two-bedroom apartment, one-bedroom apartment etc Guesthouse Family Bosnic — different room options as well Apartment Rosie — a more budget-friendly option Green lakes house — a nice house with a garden.
Which cities should I visit Dubrovnik and plitvice is already on the list and what transportation do you recommend to use to get to this places. Hi, Maria, I can definitely recommend Split and Pula as 2 nice towns to visit! You can check out my article about 8 charming towns to visit in Istria , Croatia if you need some more inspiration! As for the transportation, I think renting a car is the best way to explore the country because of all the freedom and flexibility it gives!
Hi, nice article! Maybe you can stay in a restaurant and enjoy dinner until the bus departs? I am a trained limnologist; scientist who studies lakes and streams. I am 74 years old and I am deciding whether to visit the lakes.
Since I walk with the hep of a cane, would it be possible to get around enough to make this side trip valuable? To me it looks like there is a lot of up and down walking to get to the best viewing sites. Hi David, I had a food poisoning on the day that we were going to the park we stayed outside but within 15 minutes drive , and was not able to go with my family.
They started at am and returned around 2 pm. Feeling woozy, I still decided to go inside and spend only 30 minutes there after 4 pm, walking a short distance from the entrance 1. And still, it was unbelievably beautiful and completely different from many other sites and lakes that I have seen including lakes in Canadian Rockies, in the Great Caucasian Mountains, Caspian, lake Tahoe etc. Even, if you are not able to go to all the little lakes that they say are the most clear and colorful, you might enjoy it.
Hello David, you will love it there in Plitvice, i am sure! It really depends on you, there are indeed quite many little bridges that you would need to climb up and then down, but if you are ok walking with a cane, I think you would be able to do it! If still in doubts, I recommend reaching out to the park directly. Hi Yulia. There are two other hotels inside the park right next to Hotel Jezera. They are the Bellevue and the Plitvice Hotels. Jezera is the only one that stays open all year.
The other two close in December, January and February. It is 31 October today and I am staying at Plitvice Hotel. Yulia, Thank you for your enthusiastic review of Plitvice. I greatly enjoyed reading it and made me more excited in visiting the place. We are scheduled to visit Plitvice in mid October. I was in Plitvice NP august 8th and the path to the secret spot was till closed with 2 differents big warnings signs and it seem that it will be closed for a long time for construction.
I didnt reach the spot by the road because I didnt have a car but had a wonderful time in the park. Anyone got an update about the secret spot? Is it still close by the stairs?? I just visited the park last week. The stairs are still closed. I was able to access the spot by driving to it just as others mentioned above.
Hi, we are planning to visit the park next week. Is it still close by the stairs? I just typed in Veliki Slap as I was leaving the car park. It took me up the mountain and there was an area right before a small bridge where i parked my car. There was a foot path next to the bridge and I followed that to get one view of the lakes from above. Then I went back up the path and over the bridge and found another path.
After coming up the mountain by car, I parked right before the bridge. There was foot path immediately to my left right before the small bridge- a few steps away. I followed that just for a few minutes before I found the viewing point. Then I walked back and over over the small bridge, and there is a other foot path on the left.
Neither of the paths looked as if they were kept up by the park, just more that so many people have walked this area and created the path.
Hi Jen. How far meters does the correct foot path from the small bridge? Great detailed information! We are planning on going in September but we have a 3 year old in tow. How long would you say it took you from Entrance 2 to get to the viewpoint? We will be there next month June, The Lake tours programs A, B, C programs and so on are guided or you can do it by your own?
Also what do you think is a must see? This is so helpful! Are there places at the entrances to leave bags? I would double check with the official website just in case though. Hi Yulia, thanks for your blog.
We are thinking on travelling to Croatia this summer and I found your words snooping around. We make our trips by van, could You tell me about our possibilities to enjoy that beautiful place by driving?
Hello Einyel, Even if I havent rented a car during my trip in Croatia, I have heard so many things about how beautiful it is to drive those coastal roads! The next time I come back, I will definitely do it! Hello Eden, talking about Croatia, it is fine to buy tickets at the cash register as there are no lines usually and i did not encountered any miscommunication problems. Its very easy to reach that secret spot by car. I was there last week and indeed the stairs are closed.
So I looked it up in Google earth and voila, by car no problem. Thanks so much for your update!! I will update the post and I hope that change is temporary. The stairway to the secret spot was damaged in the recent mudslides and is closed. Oh no!! I hope they will fix it as soon as possible. If we started at Entrance 2 and had hours, which way do we go? The map is quite confusing which is the upper and which is lower lakes. Which way do you recommend?
What are the trail numbers? If you take entrance 2 , once you are downstairs at the river, take the boat to the other side 2 minutes by boat. These are the upper lakes and the most beautiful waterfalls. Yes, please check my other posts on Croatia. I would definitely recommend Split and Istria region, both are so beautiful! We are heading to Plitvice over Easter and this has been amazingly helpful — thanks! Hi Fantastic blog and v helpful for us. Good work! Can you advice if my elderly mother age 83 would be able to walk on the paths and if there a wheelchair service avaialble at the park?
Also would you recommend 2 days to see the park and any nice house to stay nearby for 6 people in last week of July ? Thanks very much. I think there must be some path accessible with a wheel chair, but I remember some path having small bridges and steps, which would be inconvenient for your mother.
I recommend calling the park directly and asking them about this, hopefully they will be able to help! As for the hotel, i stayed in Villa Mukinja and I loved it, such a great hospitable place with Huuuuge breakfasts. It is about 10 minutes walk from the park if I remember correct. If you would like a hotel right inside the park, Hotel Jezero is a great choice!
Hope this helps, have a wonderful vacation and I hope your mother will be able to see those beautiful spots! I plan to go there end of June, do u think it is worth it? And also how do u suggest getting to Plitvice from Split. Thank you. Great blog, yulia…. So… how would you recommend to split the visit between the 2 days in the park — lower lakes in the afternoon of arrival, and upper lakes the next morning?
Thank you for being able to find Veliki Slap. Beautiful lookout. We climed up at the big waterfall and really there was no sigh at all to show this sightseeing pont. We tried to persuade people not to miss it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for the newsletter! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Are you thinking about visiting Croatia for the first time? How many days should I stay in Plitvice Lakes? How much is the entrance fee?
Where do I get the best pictures of Plitvice Lakes? Here is how to get to the secret spot: 5. How do I get around in the national park? How do you get to Plitvice Lakes National Park? When is the best time to visit Plitvice Lakes? Can you swim in Plitvice Lakes? Where can you stay in Plitvice Lakes National Park? Book a hotel near Plitvice. There are two simple ways to reach that location: If you take Plitvice Lakes Entrance 2, once you are downstairs at the river, take the boat to the other side 2 minutes.
Here is how to get to the secret spot:. Here is the Plitvice Lakes map so that you understand it better: As you can see in the Plitvice map above, there are different routes for getting to the variou points in the park.
So, Krka or Plitvice? My answer is: both, if you have the time! Click here to book this hotel. See all the hotels available in Plitvice.
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