Secret to Plitvice National Park, Croatia

You know that giddy sneaky feeling you get when you hear excellent news, but you have to wait your turn to share it with everyone and you nearly burst? Or the devious version of gossip you shouldn't share but know you will.... the secret of Plitvice has me sitting on the edge of my seat to share like, "guess which neighbor won the lottery yesterday?"

This insider tip is one I only want to share with my dearest friends, but I can't help tell more! So promise to keep this between us. Seriously, shhh. First, a little background…

When a dear friend (forever in your debt Arianna!) insisted I visit Croatia, my geographically challenged mind had to break out a map. That’s a lie. I opened Google. After a little searching, I found pictures of the reason she was so insistent, Plitvice National Park in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. One look at the photos, I think, “sure, this place would be cool to see.” Let me just tell you, a hockey game is cool to see, a field of flowers is cool to see, puppies are cool to see. Plitvice, however, will alter your definition of nature and beauty forever.

Standing in the middle of this marvel, surrounded by innumerable waterfalls rushing passed pointed evergreens, bright deciduous trees, rich ground vegetation then crashing into a network of turquoise lakes, I was humbled, dumbfounded more accurately. The natural winding wood walkway is the only thing strong enough to make you look down lest you fall in the water you’re not allowed to swim in, accidental or not. Don’t worry afraid of heights people, there is plenty hand railing where you might take a huge tumble, but not along the lower areas of the journey. Around every corner a new symphony of waterfalls and fresh spring foliage reveal themselves. Sheer chalk limestone cliffs blare a brilliant contrast to the vivid emerald, sometimes pearly blue, lake that glows like a mystical liquid from another galaxy.

The never-ending falls and pure water kept my shutter finger itchy as I tried to be spiritually present rather than photographically greedy. I forced my eyes closed in front of one group of waterfalls named the “Little Sprinkler” feeling the cool mist lift the heat of the sun from my face, tickling my nose. Feeling the dazzling images at your back as you turn towards the exit, sorrow touches you. You are grateful for the experience but sad that no amount of ridiculously embellished words or photographs can express what you experienced here. You desperately want everyone you know to experience it’s

miracle.

You also desperately want to tell everyone entering when you’re almost finished, “turn around you’re doing it wrong!”

Wait. What? There is one main path close to the water that leads you from one end of the park to the other with a free ferry in the middle to float you across the largest lake. So how can you “do it wrong?”, by listening to almost every guide book out there telling you to start from the bottom (Entrance 1) and walk up. You will go up and down hills no matter which way you go, so I’m not telling you to start from the top (Entrance 2) and go down to save you hiking. I’m telling you it’s the better way for three reasons.

Reason one: Crowds. Almost all the tour groups start at the bottom and there is no getting off the wooden path. Which means you’ll be behind those groups of 30 as every one of them takes a million and one pictures. If you start from the top (Entrance 2) walking the opposite way, you won’t get stuck behind them.

Reason two: The ferry line. Now, if you’re there in summer, expect to wait in a line no matter what. Bonus tip alert! Go at the end of April – trust me. The line waiting to get from one side to the other will always be shorter when you go my way. You might walk up to a line that has you waiting for half an hour and curse my name. Just wait til you get to the other side, where the little snack area is, and see THAT line! Then, please cosmically send me your apologies, so I can get my good mojo back.

Reason three: Build up to Discovery.

I hesitate to share this, because our local friend let us discover this on our own and somehow that made it even sweeter. For your sake, I’ll refrain from the details. Let’s just say the biggest, coolest spot is at the end my way and at the beginning if you start at Entrance 1. Why does this matter? All the waterfalls are mind blowing, but if you start with the huge one, you may continue to expect large ones and be disappointed by the smaller ones, even though the smaller have more character. I love these and you’ll love these, but there’s just something about size we’re all trained to be impressed by that might ruin it a bit

for you.

Even if you don’t believe me, do it my way for the lines at least… or don’t and save me standing behind your butt my next visit.

Whatever trail you take, bring a little pack with a snack and water to visit Plitvice National Park. Even in the rain, you won’t regret it. Here's my dorky map to help you out. For more info: https://www.plitvice-lakes.info/