Plitvice National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park (Plitvicka jezera, http://en.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/) is the largest national park in Croatia, located in the karst area of central croatia. From Zagreb, the Park can be reached following high-way 1 and then taking route D1 to Split. The park is between the cities of Slunk and Korenica (GPS indications). Although located near the Mediterranean see, the climate and thus the vegetation is completely different from the clima we find at the coast regions of Croatia. The surrounding mountains of Velebit acts as a climatic separator and conserve a much more humid mountain weather, populated with dense forests.

The national park is formed of karstic porous rocks, mainly dolomites and limestone, hence most of the water reserves of the area remain on the underground on caverns and underground rivers. However, there underground world of caves and rivers remain still unexplored.

Plitivice Park is made up of 16 surface lakes with depth ranging from just 2m (Buk Lake) to 47m (Kozkaj Lake), all interconnected but separated by natural dams called travertines, formed of sediments which precipitate. The lakes are at different altitudes, forming waterfalls when the water stream falls from the upper to the lower lakes. The highest waterfall is the Veliki slap (Large Waterfall in Croatian Language), with a height of 78m.

The National Park has two main entries and parking spaces, where we have to pay for the entrance tickets and parking separately. Credit cards are accepted and there exists an Exchange Bureau with faire exchange rates as well.

Walking on the park can be done only at the conditioned trails. There exist several sightseeing programs, which can be found at: http://en.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=85.

I did itineraty H (http://en.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/slike/Stranice/programi/program_h.jpg). I parked at Parking number 2, took the bus to St4 poin, then, walked down the lakes until reaching P2. The most beautiful pools and lakes are located in this area, in my opinion. On P2 I took a boat until P3, where we continue the itinerary until St1. On this area you can find the highest waterfall, Veliki Slap. Once I arrived at St1, I took the bus to Parking 2. Suggested itinerary K is exactly the same as H, but the boat trip is done walking on the shore of the lake.