I was out the door at 6:30 am to a sunrise with crystal clear skies and moderate temperatures. I was looking forward to a peaceful three hour drive through rural Croatia to Plitvice Lakes National Park!
The drive was really beautiful with lots of open backcountry roads and intermittent small villages along the way. There was even snow on some of the mountains.
When I arrived at Croatia’s most popular attraction, Plitvice Lakes National Park, I used one of the two entrance parking areas and purchased my $25 day pass. There were four trail options from this entrance that generally take from 3 to 8 hours. I chose a four hour option that looked to be traveling near some of the main sights and I wasn’t disappointed! (although I actually finished the route in 2 hours on the dot).
On the different trail routes through the park, you vary between hiking, riding pontoon boats or flat bottom ferries across the many lakes, ride bus shuttles, etc. The boats travel so slowly across the lakes that they leave almost no wake. Peaceful!
In some areas, you can either take steeper stone steps or gently sloped walking trails with switchbacks. A nice feature since that provided options for people of all ages or conditions. And the type of trails also varied a good deal as you can see in the photos below.
The park is incredibly well maintained – actually, pristine is a better description. And that’s with the massive crowds that it gets. Even today, some of the walkways to the large waterfalls were jam packed. Must be crushing during the summer months! But there was no evidence of trash, off trail blazing, etc. Croatia does a really good job with its national treasure! There was just the beginnings of color changes in the trees today, but I’m sure that the colors will be spectacular in a couple weeks!
I also drove on to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, for a quick visit. I had originally planned to stay overnight, but decided to move on out to a small country town north of the city, Zabok.
My Zabok room for the night was in a private home that has two lower level suites they rent. And this is likely the nicest room and bath combo so far. Very clean and comfortable!
My dinner at a local restaurant in Zabok was excellent! Huge portions, but very, very good flavors. And when I get home, I’m going to try a recipe for the amazing soup!
- SALATA OD KRASTAVACA SA VRHNEM I LUKOM (Cucumbers with Cream Salad / Onion – very thinly sliced)
- ZAGORSKA JUHA (Zagorje soup – a thick, hearty soup from the Zagorje region of northern Croatia. Popular in autumn and winter, it can feature wild mushrooms, potatoes, smoked meat, and sour cream, making it rich enough to serve as a main course. )
- SVINSKI MEDALJONI U UMAKU OD PRŠUTA SA DOMAĆIM NJOKIMA (Pork Medallions in Sauce of Ham with Homemade Dumplings)
- All washed down with a Croatian draft beer, Staropramen
Before you go…
Why don’t some couples go to the gym? Because some relationships just don’t work out.
A Captain’s Adventures 