One of our goals when we planned to visit Croatia was to hike at Plitvice Lakes National Park. Plitvice Lakes is a place of immense natural beauty with turquoise lakes, hundreds of waterfalls, and unspoiled old growth forests. The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that this amazing National Park is rather remote, and it's a challenge to travel in Croatia. If you look at a map of Croatia, the country is very long and narrow, bordering the Adriatic sea until you get to the northern portion which encompasses a large inland area of land. We're in the southern part of the country, and Plitvice Lakes is in the northern part and inland, about as far from Dubrovnic as we could go and still be in Croatia. Another issue, apart from the distance, is the state of the roads in Croatia. They don't have freeways that extend in straight lines for miles. They have two lane roads that wind and turn over every hill and dale forcing drivers to move at about 45 mph. It's very time consuming to travel over the roads as well as expensive to buy gas for your vehicle. After checking the bus tours and finding them too restrictive and expensive, we decided to make our own travel arrangements. We made flight reservations on Croatia Air to Zagreb, the nearest city to Plitvice Lakes, Then we found a nice and very inexpensive apartment in Zagreb--only $120 for two nights! From Zagreb we would take the bus the final two hours to Plitvice Lakes. We packed the suitcase (again!) and we were off to see one of the most amazing natural wonders in the world.

We arrived at Plitvice Lakes National Park about 10 AM and were impressed at how the Croatians have managed to both protect this environment and at the same time allow people to see and enjoy it . The park is quite large, but you can't just wander on your own anywhere you like. There are two entrances, named Entrance 1 and Entrance 2, of course. We went to Entrance 1, paid our admission, and began walking the only path available. It led us about a mile to a tram stop. The tram takes people all the way to the highest elevation in the park. Then, we walked down graveled and sometimes wooden pathways in a loop around the 16 lakes that are the highlight of the park. About halfway through the hike, a boat takes you across the largest lake to a rest area with picnic tables and restaurants. Then the hike continues until you reach Entrance 1 again. This allows visitors to enjoy the park and still protects this amazing place from people trampling all over it and destroying the natural environment. The park is huge and many little dead-end side paths allow people to explore a bit further from the main path. Benches and lookout points also allow you to stop and just take in the amazing view.

The highlights of Plitvice Lakes are the incredible turquoise color of the clear water, the hundreds of waterfalls and the wildlife that live in this protected area . When you see the pictures below you will understand why everyone is amazed at the color of the water here. I've never seen lakes this bright, clear color of turquoise. People come to Plitvice to see the hundreds of waterfalls . The 16 lakes are tiered from the highest to lowest elevation and waterfalls connect the lakes together. In May, the water is flowing at its best and we saw quite a show. The wildlife even seemed to know they were protected. We walked very close to wild ducks, saw many frogs chirping loudly and jumping about, and watched a snake grab a fish from the shoreline and begin his long attempt to kill and eat it. It was a long but wonderful day that we'll never forget. Cory's pedometer read 9 miles by the time we arrived back in Zagreb, and our legs were sore. However, it was so worth the effort. Enjoy the pics!