Plitvice National Park

We have just got home from our month away, tired but full of sights, sounds and experiences. And none more spectacular than the lakes of Plitvice National Park in Croatia. They are jaw-droppingly beautiful. We had thought we would do the smallest circuit of a couple of hours walk but ended up doing four and a half hours because we couldn’t get enough of the incredible colours and clarity of the waters as well as the simple beauty of the wilderness. But it was only wilderness in the sense that it was pretty much unspoilt except for the paths and the mass of people who come to enjoy the park every day – over one million visit every year. The further away from the starting point we got, the less people there were but at times it was busier than rush hour in a major city as you will see in my video below.

The park is on the register of Unesco World Heritage sites and covers 296.85 square kilometres with 16 lakes all interlinked with cascades. Bear, lynx and wolves abound and the water is filled with trout.

I ended up not videoing that much of our trip even though we visited wonderful cities like Vienna and Budapest because the overwhelming heat sapped me of all good intentions and my tiny GoPro camera stayed firmly in my pocket. But the temperatures dropped dramatically for the day of the walk in the park, and it even drizzled for much of the walk, which only added to the atmosphere, in my opinion.

Anyway without much further ado, check out my video, as amateurish as it is, to see why you have to add this place to your bucket list. I’ve left in the sounds of the water which is so much an essential part of the experience but you will hear some intrusive voices occasionally. I’ve also added some photos for those of you in too much of a hurry to watch a video. And I assure you, these are the true colours of the water.