Waterfall overdose in Plitvice National Park

As Î told earlier, I fractured my finger while rafting down the Cetina River with my sister. That´s why when my husband then came for a week's vacation, we decided to stick with a bit less adventurous activities. For a long time, we had been talking about going to Plitvice National Park and now it was time to tick that one off from our "What we would like to do and see in Croatia" bucket list. Plitvice is located inland near the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Driving to there takes a bit less than three hours from Split, so it is basically a whole day trip to visit there. Plitvice National Park was founded already in 1949 and its core is the area of the 16 lakes and waterfalls between them and the starting point of Korana River. We had heard from many that the place was worth a visit, now it was time to see if that´s true.


We left home little after 6 am in order to arrive to Plitvice early. As we approached the park area, the clouds landed down and the thick mist covered the countryside landscapes, which in some places resembled a lot like certain areas in Finland. We finally found the entrance number 2 to park, which is closer coming from the south. There are two entrances to the park, number 1 is easier to reach coming from north. After getting the car parked it was time to get the tickets. At the moment tickets cost 150 kn (about 20eur) per adult, during peak season in July-August the price rises to a 250 kunas. The price includes rides by electric train and boat in the park are if they are on the route you decide to take. There are a number of different route options to choose from, they are well marked on the paths wandering around the lakes and the waterfalls. The shortest are only a few kilometers, you can extend the route and at the same time increase the amount of things to see and experience. We decided to take Route H, less than 9 kilometers long path which covered the entire area nicely including train and boat rides. On the way we did a few extra steps and after nearly at the finishing point we then took a walk by the lake instead of final train ride increasing the length of the walking to total of 14km.

We started off from the upstream as the electric train took us to the starting point of our route on upper lakes. From there we then started our way towards the lower lakes gradually as does the water also. The path is mostly a wooden "bridge" that takes you forward as the water flows under your feet. At some points there is of course also normal trails on ground, like when you are passing the lakes. The surroundings for these paths are amazing. Larger and smaller waterfalls and little cascades just emerged one after another in this lush greenery creating almost fairy tail atmosphere. They just came and came as the route went on. Between them you have these calm lakes and you can truly de-stress yourself by walking along the shore of the lake under the trees as branches are almost reaching the surface of the clear water. Then again you can hear the sound of the next waterfall getting closer... So beautiful. Waterfall overdose easily obtained.

The highest waterfall in the park is the last one going downstream so it was at the end of our selected route H. It was great, but somehow I would have to say that I was more impressed by the waterfall clusters in the first part of our route before the boat ride to lover lakes. In addition, at that stage of the day the crowd began to be already too much in our scale. The big guided groups filled the path and the landscape. Fortunately instead of the scenic train ride we chose to walk to our final destination. The tranquil path went along the water´s edge of the big lake, just a few other people and there was also a spot where Tiuku was able take a refreshing dip in the clear lake. Swimming for humans is forbidden throughout the park, very understandably. If even part of thousands of park visitors would refresh themselves in cool water, it would be a complete disaster and would certainly ruin not only the water quality but also the ecosystem of the area. And the idea of towels and floaties spreading over the narrow paths is quite appalling.

To conclude, Plitvice is definitely worth a visit. Even though there is a bit of of driving if coming from the Split area. We drove the fastest route in the morning, that is the motorway, but we returned home via road number 1, the so-called "old road". It is nice well-paved road that takes you through Gračac, Knin and Sinj. I recommend this option, the route has some great sceneries and more to see than what you get driving the motorway.

Check list for Plitvice's visitor:
* Go early! I would say you should be there by 8 am at the latest, the park will open at seven o'clock. This is to avoid the most crowded times and at least in some part of the route you can walk at your own pace and not with the thousands of others. I promise that an early wake up would be worthwhile in this case. The early start is even more recommended during the high season.
* Spring, fall and winter. The park is open all year round and I would personally recommend visiting especially in the spring before the start of the high season and on the other hand after the high season during the autumn colors. If you travel to Zagreb for its famous Christmas Market, why not take a relaxing trip away from the bustle of the city to see the winterish Plitvice?
* Book the whole day for this. Do not plan anything special for the evening because the day will be long and all the wonderful this place has to offer will ultimately wear you out a bit. And it is worth taking time to really enjoy of it.
* Take good shoes. Hiking shoes are not needed, but the flip flops can be a bit uncomfortable and slippery, especially on uneven wooden bridges. It is a good idea to leave the high heels at the hotel, the sneakers or some of the slightly firmer shoes are good.
* Take something to drink and little snack with you. The area has a few cafes selling food and drinks, but they are crowded and of course quite expensive. A few bottles of water in the backpack together with maybe some fruit and ready-made sandwich will be nice to have. Remember to take all the trash with you after your brake.
* Enjoy the sight also without the camera lens. Even though I myself did take quite a lot of pictures, it's also important to enjoy the moments in live and save them as mental memories in addition to the digital images. Relax and breathe the fresh air. Plitvice is not a place for stress but for the wondering of the gorgeous and relaxing nature.

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Rafting adventure at Cetina River

Have to say that I have some pressure inside me now. Writing pressure. So much have happened during these past weeks and I would have loved to share some of it with you but circumstances have been against that. I fractured my finger and there has been few different type of splints in it. First it was tided to the finger next to it making my right hand almost useless and now the splint is just in the actual fractured finger making my life a bit easier. Meaning also that I can again write using both hands. I normally write with a pretty smooth 10-finger system but with this weird 9-finger system that is now in use there seems to be a lot of mistakes to correct and my brain is going way more faster than my fingers can function causing some turbulence between them. But here we finally go and in this text you can find out the reason for this slightly disadvantaged state I´m in.

My sister came here from Finland and we spent a wonderful week during which we experienced and saw a lot and we talked even more. We have always been close and now as we live in different countries these moments of actually being together are priceless. Can´t wait to see her again in Finland in few weeks time as I go there to spend couple of months enjoying the northern summer. Anyway, one of the things we did while she was here was rafting down the Cetina River.

I have previous experience on the subject once in Bali, for my sister this was the first time. We were the only customers on this a bit different ride. We were accompanied by an experienced rafting guide Toni and also Nickolas who was at the end of his instructional training to become a rafting guide and now it was time for his assessment test so Toni monitored his level of expertise while we were going down the river. When we arrived at the starting point we were given the necessary equipment meaning helmets and life jackets followed by instructions and few demonstrations before we actually started our ride. Because there was just two of us actually paddling, it was time to time serious work in the bright sunshine during the peaceful calm parts of the river and it didn´t take long for the first drops of sweat to ride down our backs. But there was also time to wonder the great wildlife around us, the clear water revealed the fish and we also saw few small snakes swimming. The lush greenery, small waterfalls bringing the water from the streams and the majestic canyon landscape created such a framework that one could not ask for more.

The three-hour ride, a total of about 11km, was mostly fairly peaceful with a few small easy rapids coming from time to time and we managed to get through them easily. The most challenging part of the entire ride was after midway, at one point in that part we were even told to sit on the bottom of the raft instead of the normal place on the edge. And that's where I hit the finger to something causing the fracture. I didn't even notice it at the time so not sure what exactly happened, we were just laughing as the rapid pushed us from side to side in the raft. Only after we got back to the calm water I noticed a little feeling in my finger and that is was in a bit weird position: after the knuckle the first joint wanted to go to almost 90 degree downwards and then end the finger was even too straight. I was able to keep the finger in normal position without pain but it didn't feel quite ok. A more experienced guide explored my finger, it did not reveal any sharp or sudden pain related to bones being broken but it clearly began to swell. At that point we just assumed the joints had taken a bad hit but that´s all. We exchanged places so that I was able to keep my hand in cold river water while Tony paddled on my place. After about 15 minutes I continued paddling again, still no pain in the finger. At the end of the ride we helped with one rescue test that Nickolas had to pass. My sister and Toni throwed themselves into the river and shouted for help, Nickolas then had to rescue them with the rope within given time. I took time as catching the rope in the water and holding on to it might have been difficult with my injured finger. Nickolas passed the test with great time.

Although I was unlucky with my finger, I can highly recommend rafting adventure. During the trip you have the opportunity to stop swimming and even cliff jumping if you wish. At the end of our ride I also took a refreshing dip in the river, my sister already got that done during the rescue mission. As a nature experience this is at the very peak, the canyon of the Cetina River is truly impressive and the river environment is wonderfully green, water clear and pure. And after the ride it´s nice to have lunch in the city of Omiš, where the river meets the Adriatic. So if you happen to be around Split or Omiš, then do book a ride to enjoy beautiful Cetina River by rafting.