Wooden walkways wind directly over rushing water next to cascading waterfalls as you descend from the Upper Lakes to Lower Lakes at Croatia’s Plitvice National Park. Once you’ve walked the miles of delightful wooden walkways and paths in this UNESCO World Heritage site, you’ll see why this National Park is world famous.
Late in the afternoon we checked in to our beautiful suite at Hotel Plitvice and were off to the Park Entrance #2 a short stroll away, where we bought One Day tickets for our 2 night stay, a sweet deal when you stay at Hotel Plitvice, but more about this and our suite later, first a little bit about getting around Plitvice National Park.
Plitvice National Park Map
Plitvice map
Plitvice Lakes has 2 sections with the water flowing down the elevation from the Upper Lakes to the Lower Lakes. Hotel Plitvice is at Entrance #2, in the middle of the the park. Entrance Number #1 is at the lowest part of the Lower Lakes, with a huge parking lot for tour bus parking. You get around the park by walking, shuttle buses and ferries.
Tip: Take a pic of the map at the entrance – although your entrance ticket has a map on the back, it’s convenient to have it on your phone.
The Upper Lakes of Plitvice Lakes National Park
With such a late afternoon start, we asked at the info desk for recommendations on a route. The helpful agent suggested taking the shuttle to the top of the lakes, doing a short loop and returning to the top to take the shuttle back. This may be a good late day plan for most people, but for us? With the late start and on again off again rain we had the place practically to ourselves and were so enchanted with the unique landscape of lake after lake, waterfall after waterfall, and rushing water over fabulous wooden walkways, we simply walked the entire Upper Lakes from top to bottom, hustling at the end to get the ferry shuttle back to entrance #2 before they closed at 8pm.
The route from Shuttle Stop 3 on the top of the Upper Lakes starts on a wooden walkway over the end of Prošćansko Jezero (jezero means lake in Croatian).
Wooden walk over Proscansko Jezero; Path next to Ciginovac Jezero; Water rushing down into the earth; Wooden path to Okrugljak Jezero
Okrugljak Jezero
Wooden walkways down to Veliko Jezero from Okrugljak Jezero
We took a little detour on the wooden walkway across the end of Veliko Jezero, if you kept going it would take you to the other side of the Upper Lakes, where you can walk uphill to get back to Shuttle Stop 3.
Veliko Jezero; Malo Jezero; Path next to cascades down to Galovac Jezero
The paths and wooden walkways are fantastic, then you get sight of the first WOW waterfall – the long view of the water spilling into Galovac Jezero.
Galovac Jezero
The path along Galovac Jezero hugs the mountainside as you descend to the level of the lake.
Paths at the end of Galovac Jezero
You can take the wooden walkway across the end of Galovac Jezero which will take you a long way uphill to get to Shuttle Stop 3 back at the top of the Upper Lakes or down to Ferry Stop P2. Or just keep going!
The lower we went, the wooden walkways and the waterfalls just got better and better. My favorite is the fantastic loop around the many falls that spill from Galovac Jezero into Gradinsko Jezero. The biggest waterfall here is Veliki Prštavac at 28 meters, then Mali Prštavac at 18 meters, and Galovacki Buk at 16 meters.
Veliki Prstavac, Mali Prstavac and Galovacki Buk
Veliki Prstavac – 28 meter waterfall and the second highest in the park
Wooden walkways around the falls spilling into Gradinsko Jezero
Loop path around the falls between Gradinsko and Galovac Lakes
Loop path around the falls above Gradinsko Jezero
Gradinsko Lakes paths; Ferry landing P2 to P1 across Jezero Kozjak and the way back to Entrance #2
The landscape and waterfalls are simply beautiful, but the wonderful wooden walkways that were built so we could see this unique landscape makes Plitvice an amazing experience.
The Lower Lakes of Plitvice Lakes National Park
Our info center consultant had told us that all paths on the Lower Lakes were closed due to flooding and repair except for the panoramic trail high above the canyon. This gave us plenty of time to go back to the Upper Lakes section we’d rushed through the previous day in order to make the ferry, and then take the Ferry across big Kozjak Jezero to get to the panoramic trail from there. By the time we got to the 11:00 ferry we’d found the crowds.
Ferry from P2 to P3
View from Plitvice panoramic trail, Milanovac Jezero
View from Plitvice panoramic trail
Path across Kaluderovac Jezero
Plitvice Veliki Slap, Big Waterfall from the viewpoint close to Entrance #1
The enticing path going to Veliki Slap
Waves of tour groups coming from Entrance #1 went by as we made our way the opposite direction to the biggest waterfall in the park, Veliki Slap – literally Large Waterfall.
We walked the panoramic path back to Shuttle Stop 1, and took a break from the crowds and the on again rain back in our suite at Hotel Plitvice. Was that the end of our Plitvice walks? No! We did the whole Upper Lakes route again at 4:30. Spectacular.
Magical Plitvice
I was expecting beautiful waterfalls but the entire park is one of those places that lives up to its reputation. The experience of walking miles on wooden walkways on top of the rushing water, right next to waterfalls cascading over the natural moss covered travertine dams was just… magical.
When To Go
Spring is a great time of year to go, not only does the rainfall make for a terrific amount of water in the park, the number of visitors are significantly less than in the summer. In the second week of May when we were there, the visitor count was 3,000 per day. In the summer, the number of visitors swells to 13,000! Imagine being shoulder to shoulder with all those people on those beautiful narrow wooden walkways and paths. If that’s when you must go, get out as soon as the park opens, take a break back in your hotel in the busy part of the day, and go out again in the evening when the day trippers have left.
Practicalities
To get the most out of your visit to this beautiful National Park, stay at least one night. We stayed 2 nights which worked perfectly – arriving late afternoon gives you a terrific chance to explore when the crowds have subsided and get out early again the next day, plus the next afternoon and evening for a wonderful experience without all the people who visit as a day trip.
Hotel Plitvice Suite 201
Hotel Plitvice
When you stay at Hotel Plitvice the hotel will validate your Single Day Plitvice entry ticket to allow you entry the day you arrive, PLUS entry for the next day, a terrific savings!
I’d booked a Superior Double room for 2 nights well in advance and from the pics I’d seen, I wasn’t expecting a lot. Then I entered room 201 and just said WOW! The room had been redone in terrific neutral greys and browns, with plenty of seating in the large sitting area facing the nice size LCDTV.
Arriving in Plitvice
We left the coast after our week long stay in Rovinj and in an easy 4 hour drive we were checking in to Hotel Plitvice.
Leaving Plitvice
Next stop: Zadar for 5 nights, an easy drive from Plitvice that takes about 2 hours.
Have you been to Plitvice Lakes National Park? Were you enchanted by these watery walks too?
I was there walking those boardwalks with you Rebecca and the photos were stunning. Goodness, what a magical place.
So glad to have you along on the walk Lea! This magical place gives me thrilling chills every time I think about it. Thanks for your lovely comment!
Rebecca recently posted…Bodie – The Most Fascinating Ghost Town You’ll Ever Visit
Wow Rebecca! I don’t think I have seen anything like this!! Galovac Jezero!! Really LOVELY!
It’s an unbelievable place Debbie! So glad you liked the photos and story, I was enchanted by Plitvice – it’s just magical!
Rebecca recently posted…3 Trails Make One Spectacular Hike You Won’t Want to Miss in Sedona
Fantastic photos Rebecca. One of the most beautiful places in Croatia for sure. You mention going in May – I can’t believe I see NOBODY in your photos. We had gone in June a few years back and it was quite busy, but nothing like photos I’ve seen posted on social media over the last year or two.
Frank recently posted…Temples and Street Art. And on not falling in love with Georgetown (Penang).
Thanks Frank! We were so lucky in our timing for Plitvice – we were there late in the afternoon the first day with almost no one but us at the Upper Lakes. Then the next day we were out early…the crowds started about 11 am. With a 2 night stay, and a hotel break in the afternoon of our second day, it was the perfect recipe for success to enjoy this magical place. May was a glorious time to go, so much water streaming over all the falls. I can’t imagine visiting in the peak periods and sharing it with all those people.
Rebecca recently posted…The Best Man I’ve Ever Known
Hi, Thanks for the very useful information. I have been searching for nice photography spots in Plitvice lake, and I am wondering if its hard to get to the exact spot you took this picture?
“Path across Kaluderovac Jezero” http://rebeccasnyder.com/gallery/2016/2016-plitvice/slides/Path%20across%20Kaluderovac%20Jezero.JPG
Hi Bernard, that spot is easy to get to…just take the Upper Lakes shuttle bus to Shuttle Stop 3. We did the Upper Lakes loop twice, that’s where we started the very first afternoon we got to the park, and then we went back the next afternoon and did it all over again. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best time to beat the crowds. We were there in May, I can’t even imagine going in the peak season and being shoulder to shoulder with people on these magical wooden walkways. Thanks for your comment, and I hope you love Plitvice as much as we did.
Rebecca recently posted…The Best Man I’ve Ever Known