Our Time Abroad: Plitvice Lakes National Park

From Ljubljana, we drove to a rental house (or sobe) in Rakovica, about 20 minutes outside of Plitvice Lakes National Park or Plitvička Jezera Nacionalni Park . The house was super clean and comfortable, with a living room, three bedrooms, 3 bath/showers, a kitchen, and 2 balconies. It's a shame we only had one night here. We bought groceries at a market across the street and based on what was available and looked fresh, came up with our very own "Croatian hash" dish - sausage, potatoes, roasted carrrot and peppers - with garlic bread. It was probably the most delicious meal we made on the trip.

We were up bright and early the next morning for a quick Skype call with family celebrating a belated fourth of July back home before setting out for a day of hiking. We had no trouble finding parking in a lot near Entrance 1. Upon entering the national park, this was our first view. Turquoise blue water, multiple water falls, and a rope bridge- think of an Indiana Jones set, but the real deal.

The views that followed had no trouble maintaining our travelers high. We descended a canyon to the Lower Lakes (Donja Jezera) and walked along a boardwalk around the pristine Lake Kaluderovac; so clear, you could see countless small trout swimming along the shore. We took a short detour to see Veliki Slap, the biggest waterfall in the park, and as we continued around the Lower Lakes, couldn't help but repeatedly comment on the color of the water. It was seriously an unnatural hue of turquoise blue, which can apparently be attributed to (as interpreted by Matt): the surrounding limestone having dissolved over time into calcium carbonate which then is transformed (magically by the lake-waterfall-wisp system) into travertine (mythical rock); this travertine dust settles on the bottom of the lakes, reflecting sunlight and the sky to create emiscient blue (a made up shade of blue was necessary).

Lake Kaluderovac.

Trout.

Veliki Slap (Big Waterfall).

Elie by one of the Lower Lakes.

Our next detour off the path was to Supljara "Bottomless" Cave. Apparently this was the site of multiple German Westerns, complete with German-speaking Native Americans, and definitely worth spending a few minutes checking out.

From here, we continued around the lakes and eventually came upon a clearing with picnic tables, toilets, and a small food station. We unpacked our picnic lunch of meat, cheese, apples, etc., rested our backs, and waited for a shuttle boat that would take us to the Upper Lakes (Gornja Jezera). There was some confusion about which side of the lake we wanted to be on, so we rode back and forth across Lake Kozjak a couple of times before ending up at the P2 dock and continuing our hike around the Upper Lakes. Thankfully, our entry fee to the park covered all boat shuttle and tram rides, so it wasn't too big of a deal.

We followed the trail to Gradinsko Lake, which according to Rick Steves (who's recommended hike we followed to a tee), boasts the best scenery in the whole park. At the time, I disagreed with Rick completely, as I was blown away by our initial views around the Lower Lakes; though now I see that the photos really are stunning. The way the water falls came down in all directions reminded me of a human fist trying to contain running water. We were literally being sprayed by the waterfall while standing on the boardwalk a ways away.

Because the falls apparently become few and far between the further you go (and because we had kids strapped to our bodies), we were content to barely touch the bottom portion of the Upper Lakes and found our way to a tram that drove us part of the way to our starting point.

Lake Kozjak.

The final views on our hike from the ST1 tram stop to Entrance 1 were a wonderful finale- all of the beautiful views from the first part of our hike from an upper vantage point. I think it helped to fully appreciate what a natural wonder this place really is.