Travel Destination: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Even better was the lack of other visitors. In the intervening nine years, Plitvice Lakes National Park has become Croatia’s busiest tourist attraction welcoming some 750,000 tourists a year. Nearly all come in July and August. “Please tell people to come in spring and autumn, if they can” my guide begged me. The newly renovated hotels are now completely booked up in the summer and the walkways are elbow to elbow with camera clickers.
Although missing the summer greenery, I quickly grew to appreciate the bare trees that allowed an unobstructed view of the lakes and falls. It was clear that the lake system is divided into four lower and twelve upper lakes. Just past the main entrance, the Korana River drops a torrent of water 258 feet into a frothing pool that begins the lower lakes. Lying at the bottom of a canyon, the narrow lower lakes are bordered by steep limestone walls and climb like a giant staircase to the upper lakes. Wider and surrounded by dense forest, the upper lakes lie on a bed of dolomite. At the very top, the White and Black rivers are the spigots that water the park. The high mineral content of the lakes explains their extraordinary colors, which range from day-glow green to deep azure.
Examining the crystalline water of the top lake, I noticed that the leaves and branches settled on the bottom were acquiring a metallic coating. It was the travertine process in action. The water absorbs minerals from the dolomite underlying the upper lakes and coats the plant life, turning it to porous travertine stone. The new travertine sprouts moss and plants that again petrify and the process repeats itself. All the barriers separating the upper lakes are composed of travertine constantly growing and changing shape.
If you go to Plitvice, you don’t need to stay long enough to turn to travertine but the park merits more time than it usually gets. Lying about 85 miles north of Zadar and south of Zagreb, many people rush through the park on their way to or from the coast. It’s possible to see a lot of waterfalls in three or four hours but you’ll need a number of days to fully explore the trails. The three-star Hotel Jezero is the best of the park’s three hotels but there are plenty of small pensions and private rooms in the villages around the park.
Jeanne Oliver has written all three editions of Lonely Planet’s Croatia guidebook. To find out more about traveling to Croatia and to book your trip, visit Jeanne’s website, http://www.croatiatraveller.com
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