6 months To See The World: Croatian National Parks

Two of the five days I spent on the Croatian mainland were dedicated to the Croatian National Parks: Krka (pronounced Kirk-a) and Plitvicka (pronounced Plit-yich-ka). They are both works of natural beauty created by the same geological force. I have never seen anything like them. Both also required a significant time commitment because they are buried in national parks that are a significant drive away from any major cities. Krka was over an hour from Split and Plitvicka was over 3 hours away. They are still some of the most popular tourist attractions in this small country - Plitvicka hosts over a million people every year! You could hire tours to Plitvicka from as far as Dubrovnik.

The large waterfall at Plitvicka. The first vista from the park entrance.

The lakes and waterfalls in these parks are formed by rivers created by mountain snowmelt. The rivers collect and flow through a limestone valley. So the river water disolves the karst rock upstream, and deposits some of it downstream, making travertine. Gradually, natural travertine dams are formed, creating lakes. Waterfalls connect one lake to the next in an endless series of dramatic lake-waterfall combinations. Our Plitvicka guide explained all this to us, and I stole a cross section picture from Wikipedia to illustrate the phenomenon. The natural dams gradually change, so that the area is forever changing.

Cascades at Krka

The first park I visited was Krka. I went there with friends I made the night before and we got a private tour of sorts from our hostel host, Joska. Krka turned out to be a lot more laid back than the more popular Plitvicka. For example, they didn't care if you wandered off the boardwalks that guided tourists to the popular sights. They also clearly encouraged you to swim at the base of the most famous water fall there.
We swam first, and I unfortunately do not have a waterproof camera so can't share those pictures, but the water was cold! We had to walk across some of the natural travertine barriers to get to the deeper swimming holes. Those rocks were really slippery and only a few inches below the waters surface so there is no cushion if you fall. That means everybody ends up tip-toeing gingerly accross them, trying not to eat it. This made for very entertaining people watching . . . some people just crabbed it all the way accross while other started out walking upright with bravado, but almost always slipped and ended up waving their arms wildly to keep from falling.

The famous Krka waterfall and swimming hole

We swam, surrounded by tourists from all around the world, ate lunch at the park's cafe, sunbathed and and then went exploring off-piste. There were countless natural waterfalls and caves that you could climb to off the beaten path. Hana led the way and we ended up hanging out in our own private pool with our own private waterfall. It was great! Our gang of 7 had a great time goofing off and relaxing all day.

Beatrix showing Hana how to flex
during lunch

The water was so clear you could see
the lazy fish swimming feet below
the boardwalks

A close-up of a waterfall
under the large waterfall at
Plitvicka. The boardwalk
gives you a sense of scale.

The last day I had on the coast was spent in Plitvicka because I kept hearing from other travelers that it was even better than Krka. So I bit the bullet and hired a tour company to take me there. The tour company was efficient and the tour guide was informative enough, but the whole tour pretty much treated us like cattle . . . "Move along please", "Don't get seperated please", "Rest here for 30 minutes and then we all get on the boat", "We have to be back to the bus by 3:00 so we can get you back on time". (We actually got back a whole hour ahead of schedule.)

Plitvicka does not allow you to get off the boardwalks, probably due to its protected status. The result is throngs of tourists squeezing past each other on the narrow and uneven boardwalk, pausing every time somebody ahead of you wants to stop to take a picture. The natural beauty of the park is unquestionably more stunning than Krka, but the experience was lacking.

Julie at the base of the large waterfall

Fortunately for me, I made friends with an older French couple and two fellow English-speaking travelers, Suman and Sarah. So we got to ooh and aah at each turn in the boardwalks together. I love comparing notes with other travelers-addicts! Some of the best suggestions for where to visit next have come from fellow travelholics.

Here are a few pictures of Plitvicka, just to give you a feel for what we saw. Next time, I will get a car or bus and spend the night at one of the hotels near the park because 3 hours was simply not enough time to explore this amazingly beautiful and huge park!