Exploring the Plitvice Lakes

Wednesday 10 – Thursday 11 July 2024

Day five of our trip saw us depart our crazy little apartment in Zagreb, head across town by tram to the main bus stationby 10am to catch the two hour ride to Plitvice National Park.  It was an airconditioned coach which made the trip very comformable and we shared a late breakfast of riveta and gouda which made a considerable mess.

Our accommodation was located in the village of Mukinja, about 15 minutes south of Entrance 2 to the Lakes.  There are two entrances to the walking tracks which makes the sheer number of people visiting each day managable. This little village had one very busy shop and about 60 or so houses.  It combined worker accommodation, long-term residents, and tourist accommodation. In our wanderings we discovered one school, a childcare centre and a first aid centre.  It had a very nice, but quiet, vibe.

We had booked a studio apartment for one night so that we could get settled before attacking the 6-8 hour full lap of the lakes. As you can see we were spoilt and there was a full kitchen behind me sowe had schnitzel, chips, peas and gravy!!

The trip around the Lakes was a very organised affair.  There were a number of routes to choose from, starting at 30 minutes walking to 8 hours.  Visitors started at the two different entrances and then crossed paths at some point.  Given that the majority of people opted for the shorter versions of the walk, it meant that there were some sections where the crowd was less crowdy.

One of the ways they differentiated the walks was by replacing different sections with either bus rides or boat trips across the lakes.  We opted for the first bus ride as it took us up to 800m elevation. This allowed us to make our way down the chain of lakes that terraced down the valley. I’m not adverse to climbing, but it was still 34C!

The colours and views were amazing, and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

We finished walking at about 4:30 and had a bit of time to rest before boarding the 6pm bus to Split.  We found a quiet restaurant for an early dinner and continued to sweat for another hour.  I can’t really describe how hot it was.  We heard thunder in the distance while storm and extreme heat wave warnings continued to roll in.  The bad weather was following us south.

We were a little embarrased by our somewhat distressed appearance and concerned for anyone having to sit near us the the 3.5 hour trip, but needed have worried as a score of other backpackers lined up with us to re-join the  Zagreb-Split bus. 

We arrived in Split at 9:40pm. One local bus and a steep walk later, we collapsed into bed.