Plitvice Lakes National Park - Day 14

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

We awakened to pouring rain, which did not bode well for our day's activities -- a hiking expedition in Plitvice (PLEET-veet-seh) Lakes National Park.  The weather had been predicted, so Klemen, our guide, had warned the group the night before that today's activity required walking in the rain for several miles in several hours.  With that in mind, only 9 of the 23 participants decided to brace the elements. The rest stayed in Zagreb, which was not bad, because the city is filled with art galleries and shopping opportunities. Another consideration was that the drive took almost 3 hours one way, making a long day after being on the bus most of yesterday. But for me, it was worth it.

Our group arrived ready to tackle the trails and the rain, and checked out the map.

Plitvice is an amazing natural wonder, located in central Croatia, near the Bosnian border.  I am not aware of anything like it in the USA.  The park, which was founded in 1949, encompasses 73,350 acres. The highlights are 16 terraced lakes that join a series of waterfalls, extending into a limestone canyon.  The lakes are divided into the upper and lower lakes. Unfortunately, because of the rain, the upper lakes were partially flooded so we just did the lower lakes.  This was fine, because the rain was heavy and the park was incredibly crowded for a Tuesday. The Park is beautifully maintained, and wooden walkways and hiking trails connect the lakes.  However, the walkways are not made of planks but of tree branches, so it is very uneven. And with no railing and large crowds, one worried about getting accidentally knocked into a lake.  Fortunately, that did not happen. I never even passed my phone to anyone for a quick shot for fear he or she would drop it into the water; selfies were my only alternative. But even I had to stop shooting photos to be sure I did not slip into the water or ruin my phone with the rain.

After a descent from the parking lot to a lake, we crossed the water in a small boat to get to the trailhead.

Soon after we were treated to a spectacular display of Mother Nature's art.  Here are a series of photos including the waterfalls, boardwalks and trails.

The lakes are formed by runoff from the surrounding mountains and an unusual amount of rain (about 60 inches/year) that goes into a basin at the top of a lake. The water descends from an altitude of 2,000 ft. through the porous limestone rock to create this amazing array of waterfalls.  The calcium carbonate in the rocks is extruded by the water pressure, forming a hard crust, similar to the crust around some water faucets in areas with a similar rock and water combination.  Mosses, algae, and water plants also play a major role in forming this unique landscape. Consequently, the waterfalls are always changing, and people say it is different every time they visit. The water in the lakes also changes color, ranging from azure to green, gray or blue depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the amount of sunlight 

We hiked for about 2 hours and then had lunch at a small nearby restaurant.  All of our meals have been great except this one.  We were never sure what the meat was and what part of the animal it came from -- and it was way more fat than meat.  No problem.  We have been fed well and we'll eat again in a few hours.

We then headed back to the hotel -- made it in 2-1/2 hours. I actually skipped dinner and walked around the Jelačič Square (which is right in front of our hotel).

Then I explored some nearby streets, checking out souvenir shops and eateries. I spent the rest of the evening drying out. I even bought a Croatian newspaper to stuff in my shoes to dry them.