Plitvice Lakes.

We had a wonderful day at Plitvice Lakes National Park. My photos don’t do it justice and, due to the lack of any decent rain for months, the waterfalls were not as spectacular as they can be - but it is well worth visiting and we came away ‘tres contents’.

But first a disclaimer: If you think you may be alone in nature, you won’t be. In many of my photos of the paths there are few or no other people - that was purely a combination of chance and quick reflexes. We were rarely alone.

The park is extraordinary not just for its natural beauty. It is incredibly well organised, signposted and maintained for maximum accessibility with minimum impact on the natural environment. And there are various options for which route to take depending on how far and long you want to walk and whether you are up for a bit of hiking as well as a mainly flat path and boardwalking. We chose Route H that would take us past all levels of the lake, starting from the top, then we added a climb to the high viewpoint, and a final walk along the lakeside at the end of our time in the park. It was around 13 kms in total and the earlier and later add ons were not crowded.

But there were some sections, particularly in the lower lakes, where the bottlenecks were as crowded and slow moving as they were unavoidable … not helped by people walking two and three abreast along narrow two way boardwalks, with water either side, seemingly unbothered by those coming from the opposite direction. What the !!! Not to mention those walking with their noses in their phones, or walking in reverse for selfie photos and videos. It did make me wonder how often people find themselves unintentionally nudged off the walkways and into the water? If you are the impatient kind and have a low threshold for crowds, this may not be the place for you. 😘

My better self tried to reflect - isn’t it wonderful that there are so many people who want to enjoy walking in nature on a random Wednesday outside of the summer holidays. My lesser self grumbled - why are there so many people here on a random Wednesday outside of the summer holidays?

Wise to remember that saying … ‘You’re not stuck in traffic, you are the traffic!’

So that’s the unvarnished truth. All of that aside, Plitvice Lakes National Park is nature at its finest. Highly recommended. A wonderful day. 😎

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