PLITVICKA NATIONAL PARK - CROATIA

 I had seen a few internet posts about this place, and was determined to make a stop here on the way to Brac. It is definitely worth the detour. We ended up spending a second day wandering around the lakes and through the waterfalls.

Coming into the national park from the north after leaving Zagreb, we started to encounter examples of the beauty that awaited us, as we passed through a town full of travertine pools and waterfalls.

Plitvicka National Park is a larger area of forested hills, but the main attraction is a series of lakes, created by calcium deposits which form little dams and terraced pools between the trees and vegetation along the base of a canyon. There are three main lakes, but countless smaller pools in between. You can start at the top or the bottom of the area. By starting at the bottom you are always looking forward and up at the next waterfall.

The first set of waterfalls is below the first lake. Got to take one of those "yes, we were here" pictures.

Great view of the lower falls.

 The trail meanders around the pools and lakes, and even over waterfalls on little wooden walkways.

 This place is like a cross between Cascade Springs and Havasu falls, on steroids!

Around ever turn there is another beautiful waterfall.

As you walk around the lakes you are temped to rest in a tree covered alcove, eat a snack, and take in the calm, peaceful surroundings.

Then you're off again to the next set of waterfalls.

The lower lake has a ferry boat that takes you part way across, but the other lakes require a little bit of "wanderlust" our namesake...

Once at the top, you can take the shuttle bus back to the main parking area, or you can wander through the woods along the ridgeline, where you occasionally encounter great views of the lakes and waterfalls below.

Another view of the walkways through the waterfalls and between the lakes.

And one last look down at the lower lake and falls.

Found a great place to stay, just south, outside the park. Talk about small world, her sister lives in Kaysville, Utah.