Plitvice Lakes: Waterfalls, Crowds, Flip-Flops and Winnetou
16 lakes, more than 90 waterfalls, a myriad of walking and hiking trails and part of UNESCO’s world heritage list. Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of Croatia’s highlights and was of course also on our bucket list for what to see while touring the country.
This time we are trying out a different format for our blog – let us know what you think!
What is Plitvice Lakes National Park?
Plitvice Lakes National Park is Croatia’s largest national park, covering an astonishing area of ~295 square kilometers and is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, welcoming more than 1 million visitors a year. The national park was founded in 1949 and has been on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites since 1979 due to its unique series of lakes, caves and waterfalls.
What can you do in the park?
The national park has a number of walking and hiking trails ranging from easy to difficult trails. We had looked at the trails before coming to the national park and decided to take trail C which is a moderate trail of 8kms and takes 4-6 hours to complete. The trail starts and ends at entrance 1 (the main entrance), making it easy to reach from the carpark. Plitvice is divided into an upper and lower part and trail C covers both parts and includes a boat trip and a panoramic bus drive.
Is Plitvice a good place for a family trip?
Definitely! Having already hiked a lot in Austria, we had learned what to expect with the kids and had plenty of sunscreen, water and food (and some candy) in the backpack and made sure that the kids had a toilet break before we started our hike.
The kids were as impressed by the stunning views and landscape as we were and enjoyed the mix of walking and going by boat/bus. Moreover, the trail is mostly in the shade and it feels adventurous as you walk on a narrow wooden path with many twists and turns. The kids loved walking ahead of the rest of us, playing tour guides and always being the first to spot the next sign for trail C – we could even convince them to walk one leg of the trail which could have been done by bus! The national park also has a few spots along the trail where you can buy ice cream and have a toilet break which was also helpful.
What did we think was the most impressive in the national park?
We were all amazed about the many different colors of the lakes and the beautiful waterfalls combined with the size of the national park. We especially enjoyed the hike once we got away from the main crowds and could truly take in the beauty of it all.
What did we not like about the national park?
The number of tourists! Although, there is a limit to how many people can enter the national park a day, it was extremely crowded around the entrance and the first part of the trail. In the beginning we felt more like walking on Oxford Street in London just before Christmas than walking in a national park. Luckily, many visitors choose a shorter trail or only visit the 78m high Veliki Slap waterfall, also known as the Great Waterfall, which is right at the entrance.
What did we prepare before visiting Plitvice Lakes?
We had bought our tickets online as tickets sometimes sell out or you have to wait for later time slots if buying your tickets directly at the park. Also we had decided on our trail in advance, meaning we did not lose any time deciding on what way to go once we got there which was great with the kids.
Finally, knowing that we wanted to have the time to do one of the longer trails (and had to drive 3 hours to get to the park), we had booked one night’s accommodation just a few minutes away from the park. After having completed the trail, it was great only having to drive for a few minutes and we stayed in a wonderful Airbnb apartment, Golden Fields, where Nicola, our host, also recommended a great restaurant close by.
What was the funniest thing about the trip?
Firstly, while we were wearing our hiking boots, others had a very different interpretation of what is the best footwear for a hike in a national park and came in flip-flops! We were a bit astonished when we saw the first person wearing flip-flops, but we saw several people on all parts of the trail wearing flip-flops so maybe that’s the new fashion😊
Secondly, many of the film adaptions of German author Karl May’s Winnetou novels were filmed in Plitvice Lakes National Park. Both Michael and Niklas have watched the films on several occasions and had a lot of fun recognizing the scenery – and not least identifying hotels and restaurants close to the park which had names from the films such as the Pansion Winnetou (hotel) or Old Shatterhand Pub!
