Today we finally visited Plitvice Lakes National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most popular places in Croatia. We’ve got quite a story to tell about our visit to this natural wonder (let’s just say for now that we’ve cut our visit short). But before we reveal all other details of the visit, we really wanted to share with you few images of this amazing national park.
Images of Plitvice Lakes Croatia
There are two main entrances to the park. We took an entrance no. 1 and the first sight we’ve seen was the Veliki Slap (or Big Watrefall).
We’ve always heard stories about the amazing color of the lakes. You’ll really see all the shades of blue, green and that amazing emerald.
We’ve seen few rainbows too.
At the times, the hike was really demanding. OK, this is where we almost cried. Over 100 steep steps to climb. Just to realize we’ve made a wrong turn. And we should have never climbed those stairs. Ouch!
But in no time, we were back to walking on the water. No kidding!
We also visited a small village of Rastoke, 20 kilometer north of Plitvice Lakes. This is a charming settlement of watermills. This site is less popular and thus less crowded. We spent almost two hours at this place.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this short Plitvice Lakes journey through photos. At least your legs don’t hurt from all the stairs (they were a killer!).
Have you been to Plitvice Lakes? Would you like to visit the lakes? Let us know in the comments below.
Sounds incredible!! Always wanted to see the Falls in winter. One of these days.
I would love to know where you stayed while you were exploring these lovely waterfalls?We are planning a trip to Croatia and we were thinking a couple days in this area and than heading towards Zadar and ending up around Istria..We love to run and hike swim eat relax..
Were from Salt lake City,Utah and were excited to be near the ocean.
Thank you for your time and I love your blog!! Love your recipes!!
Have a lovely day! Ally
Oh my goodness…your photos are so beautiful!! Thank you for sharing them!
Thanks, Wojtek! I’ve been once to the Plitvice during the summer. The lakes were gorgeous. There were lots of people, though. Thanks for sharing your photos!
That’s sounds great. I haven’t sailed yet in Croatia, but would definitely love to. I bet you’ve seen the majority of the coast in a month of sailing.
Thanks for sharing the pictures and details about Rastoke. Looks really like a beautiful place.
Croatia is awesome. Years ago I sailed more than a month along the coast of Croatia.
Beautiful pictures!
Plitvice Lakes are beautiful any time of year :) especially in the summer. It is unfortunate that when there are so many tourists: (
Our pictures: http://CroLove.pl/Jeziora-Plitwickie-piekno-chorwackiej-przyrody
Regards
Wojtek
Hi Selina, thanks for stopping by. The rainbows were all over the place. Seriously! Glad to connect with you on Twitter.
Stunning! Definitely on the must-do-list for Croatia. Your rainbow photo is awesome :)
Added you on Twitter so hope to catch up there sometime!
Hahaha … , Megan! You should hurry up. It’s pretty and still affordable.
hahaha … Bronwyn, we call them the Plitvice Lakes :)
I too would love to visit the lakes in different seasons. This time we really profited from the high water levels, crazy rapids, and rainbows. Water had that magical colour. But we did miss a bit more leaves and greenery to have a perfect setting. I would say to visit the lakes in a month would make a perfect timing.
Thanks, Maria! We actually had a picnic right next to the water, and just stayed there quietly for over an hour.
Thanks for your comment, Nikola! I’ve only seen Plitvice in spring and summer, and would love to experience them in winter and fall as well. Rakija gives power, that’s for sure. My favorite is Mirta – have you tasted that one?
Great to hear that you’ll be visiting this summer. Since you do enjoy hiking and outdors, make sure to visit the lakes. It’s easy to reach Plitvice from Zagreb by bus.
Ben, not everywhere. Part of the lower lakes was actually closed. We couldn’t go across.
Time to grow your bucket list :). Thanks for stopping by, Tara!
Thanks, Ben! Have you visited?
Seriously, knee deep snow?! Would love to see the lakes all covered in white.
Thanks Bianca! We loved the little village. It was so peaceful.
I can only imagine what it is like in summer. The boardwalks are not very wide, and a times they are a bit shaky. But at least the nature must be very green. We still had this grey winterly feel, lots of trees without the leaves, etc. Still beautiful, though :)
Wow, the colour of that water is unbelievable! Lovely photos, especially of the rainbows. This is going to have to go on my ‘places to see’ list.
Plitvice Lakes looks absolutely stunning! Those colors are amazing and I like how they set up the steps right on the water. Sorry you had to do an unnecessary climb. Beautiful photos! That watermill village looks like it came out of a fairytale book.
We went in August (oh, the crowds) and took the other entrance, so we saw the large waterfalls at the end of the 5 hour hike! Although the crowds were crazy, it was still an incredible, beautiful experience that I will never forget!
I’m so mad that I wasn’t able to make it to the lakes! We were thinking it and then we got side tracked.
Awesome pictures! I am still very keen to see this place. Great to see surrounding pictures than just of the falls mostly taken by people.
I really can’t wait to visit Plitvice Lakes when I make to Croatia next! Gorgeous!
So lovely! Will be adding this to our Croatia itinerary!
I visited in February 2013. It was deserted & everything closed (meaning entrance was at least free). Luckily two Japanese girls from my bus accompanied me in otherwise I wouldn’t have dared go so far by myself in the snow. The place was covered knee deep, the lakes were grey & frozen but some of the more accessible waterfalls were still gushing. Even though about 95% of its natural beauty was probably covered by a blanket, it was such a peaceful, magical place, & the one place I’m dying to go back at a different time of year so I can appreciate it fully.
Croatia has so much to offer! From charming medieval walled towns to beaches to stunning country landscapes like this. Love the emerald color of the lakes…
They truly are heaven on earth, no matter what season. Summer, the canopy and the crystal clear water are stunning, autumn, OMG the colour!, and winter, there is nothing like seeing a frozen waterfall, it honestly looks like a magic place… as for spring, I swear I’m sure I saw a few magical Water Nymphs among the new foliage & river beds.
As for Rakija… yep! Rakija fixes everything… it’ll kill any trace of a cold, make you forget everything, help you find your “singing” voice and make you a heap of new friends!
Cool! and Great pictures too. This is a looks beautiful :)
Beautiful. Will have to add this one to the ‘billion places I want to visit’ list. :-)
I love all of your photos! Plitvice really is such a gem. The nearby village also looks beautiful – I visited the nearby village of Slunj and they look quite similar.
I would love to visit the lakes! That village is quite charming, too. It looks like a fantastic day out exploring and I’m putting this one on my bucket list!
Is it safe to cross if the water level is high?
Beautiful! The rainbow over the water is just too pretty – I’d be hard pressed to move from that spot.
These pictures are amazing! I’m headed to Croatia in July, and Plitvice is definitely on our list for a day trip. Hoping it’s not too hard to get to from Zagreb!
I think we must have taken the opposite trail through the park. It is so beautiful! Love your photos
Plitvice Lakes looks like a really beautiful place on the photos and it seems to cover quite an extensive area. Why did you end up cutting your visit short? Was that at the point when you discovered the cute coffee terrace in the watermill village? I could have easily spent there two hours as well… :)
Yes I’ve been to Plitivice and totally loved it. Everything about it lived up to my dreams and we visited in summer. We got there early and avoided the big crowds. It’s interesting seeing your photos from a different season. No leaves and much higher water levels make it quite different. Loved looking at your photos and reliving my memories.
Wow, no wonder it’s a UNESCO site. Love the… what would you call them? The wooden paths on the water. Not jetties or bridges – they look just like they’re floating.
It looks amazing – somewhere that I’ve wanted to go for ages, but never quite made it to. all the rainbows are beautiful! Great pics :)
Wow… That is quite some hike, but completely worth it for the views, what a stunning place! :)
Plitvitce is definately on the list for our next visit. Love the pics!!
Yup, we’ve been and are going again this year. That place is heaven on earth! Damng about those stairs – I prescribe rakija to help recover.
Looks like a great place for a day trip! Nice!
I remember seeing photos of Plitvice Lakes a few years ago. Those photos had me hooked on the idea of going to Croatia someday and your photos remind me to hurry up and plan. Something about those paths over/along the water…just beautiful.