Croatian National Parks Pt 2 - Plitvice
I think it’s fair to say that this park is considered the crown jewel of Croatia’s national parks. Plitvice NP is a series of lakes connected by waterfalls and traversed by walkways - very similar to Krka, but with taller falls and quite a bit more trail to explore. The built infrastructure is where this park really excels - the walkways take you right through the most amazing sections, immersing you in the cascades. They seem to levitate you along, and as they do so the curves and arches also become part of the beauty. Truly an exemplar of park design.
Logistically, the trail from Parking Lot 2 is a great starting point, and we walked from the bottom to the top of the lakes, then walked/bused back. There’s also a ferry across one of the larger lakes for a cool hiking interlude. Finally, we stayed in remnants of a mill village (Korana) down river of the main park, and it provided some great fall colors. Bonus, it has the last remaining water sawmill in the country just sitting there, next to the house.
Personal note: I feel a little sheepish about these NP descriptions being uneventful, but that was our experience: we went there, we paid a very reasonable entry fee, it was awesome, here are the pictures - they are also awesome (toot, toot).
