Our hike through Plitvice National Park in Croatia today, has to be the natural highlight of our trip so far. What a great way to spend day 70 of our odyssey. Waterfalls gurgled, gushed and roared from above and below our feet as we wove our way on boardwalks and trails around and through sixteen lakes. It was indescribable beauty of crystal clear emerald water cascading from one lake to another in veils of spray, ribbons, and streams.
Not sure we want to check this one off the bucket list as it begs for a repeat! This is not a good place for even fat short heels (come on ladies, get a grip), wheel chairs, strollers, uncontrolable toddlers, dogs, and others who might have issues walking or balancing over water. Board walks are rough, stepped up and down in small tripable increments (we tripped a couple of times), no rails, and narrow. There is a lot of two way walking traffic with picture taking every two feet.
Hint. Go early. Start by 7:00-7:30 am before the tour busses and the hoards from Split arrive around 10:00. We had most of the morning to ourselves, and by the thick of the day we were almost done with our hike.
For those interested in a little more about the geology of this park, I am including a bit from Wikapedia
"The national park is world famous for its lakes arranged in cascades. Currently, 16 lakes can be seen from the surface.[3]These lakes are a result of the confluence of several small rivers and subterranean karst rivers. The lakes are all interconnected and follow the water flow. They are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria. The particularly sensitive travertine barriers are the result of an interplay between water, air and plants. The encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm (0.4 in) per year.
The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m (2,087 to 1,650 ft) over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square kilometres (0.77 square miles), with the water exiting from the lowest lake forming the Korana River.
The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colors, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight."
Dreaming of emeral water tonight.
All is Well With the Worrall Travel R's
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