From The Sea To The Lakes

Saturday morning’s rainstorm has just about cleared by the time we pick up the hire car and head off on the road trip section of this adventure. With the Adriatic on all sides of the city bar one, the only way out by road is the steep climb up and over the mountains which form such a dramatic backdrop to this part of the Dalmatian coastline. 

For our journey northwards from Split, we ignore the motorways and head along smaller roads through great plateaux of green between the rolling hills, passing through quaint towns and sweeping valleys as we make our way towards Plitvicka Jezera, the Lake District of Croatia. Our resolution to reduce our food intake is completely scuppered by a detour to the small town of Udbina, where we aren’t quite sure how, but we “accidentally” order a lunch of truly gigantic proportions which will surely test the suspension of our Renault Clio hire car.

The attractive, winding route brings us eventually to Mukinje, a small village settlement close to the entrance to the Plitvicka Jezera national park. The village of Mukinje serves as a ski centre in winter and a hiking destination in summer, and appears to exist only for those purposes: there seems to be no original village.

PLITVICKA JEZERA

Spelt “Plitvice” in some sources, this is one of Croatia’s national parks and accordingly is funded by the fee you have to pay as a licence to enter. It’s not ever so cheap (£15 per person per day) and visitors are best advised to book on line before arrival as daily numbers are restricted. 

Trails here are well signposted and easy to follow; some of them are family and child friendly, with slatted wooden walkways above any rough terrain or boggy areas, and sometimes directly above the water which foams and crashes beneath your feet. There are additional longer walkways for those of us wanting more of a challenge, often leading to the best higher level viewpoints.

Again we feel lucky: there are large numbers of rooms available in Mukinje with occupancy at less than 50%, yet there are plenty of walkers on the main trails. This place must be rammed in a normal high season. Small ferries amble across the main lake, meaning you can better plan your hikes to suit your own fitness levels, and timing. 

The entire area, though, is beautiful, comprising a series of sixteen lakes at descending levels down the mountainside, the water spectacular shades of turquoise with amazing reflections of the wooded hillsides above; turquoise from above, crystal clear on closer inspection. There is no single main water course: instead, huge quantities of glinting water cascade down all of the slopes from every direction, forming waterfall after waterfall on the journey to the lowest level. So many waterfalls…

We spend two really great days walking a combination of the set trails and tougher paths, affording ourselves every angle of view of the lakes and waterfalls in this beautiful area, from lakeside to the high level viewpoints. It’s easy to see why this world heritage site has a reputation as one of Europe’s best national parks.

Our village of Mukinje has just one restaurant and a single shop, but, restaurant wise, there are gems in the surrounding countryside. One such is Petar, where the chef cooks every dish over hot coals right beside the diners. Walking this glorious countryside in endless sunshine, then finishing our day with fresh trout from the lakes grilled over those coals is just about our perfect kind of day. These two days have been brilliant.

A LITTLE PIECE OF SCIENCE 

The following neat diagram explains the natural phenomenon of Plitvice, where limestone deposits from the cascading water builds tufa ridges, which in turn form the barriers, or steps, between the different levels of the lakes. The rich calcium nature of the tufa layers spawn hugely diverse flora, all part of the stunning and unique scenery of this beautiful area.