MissViaggio in Plitvice Lakes National Park

The best way to explore the park and its lakes is to choose one of the seven trails (A, B, C, E, F, H, or K). Some of them include a short ride on electric boats or a ride on the visitor trains. Since I am always up for a hike, I opt for Tour K, the longest, which covers almost the entire park. It's the perfect choice because though it can get crowded at the hot spots, you are on your own for much of the hike.

It starts at the south entrance (Entrance 2) and takes you along the east shore of the Lake Kozjak and further long the east side of the Lower Lakes Canyon. After a short stop at the "Great Fall" (87 meters in total, making it the highest waterfall in Croatia) the trails continues upstream. The beauty is breathtaking. The lakes shimmer in various shades of blue, I can't get enough of them and try to memorize everything at once.

Next follows a walk along the western shore of Lake Kozjak. From time to time I see electric boats passing by. The trails leads through dense beech forests (which provide pleasant shade in the midday heat) towards the Stubica elevation, from where you have magnificent views over the Upper Lakes and waterfalls like Veliki Prštavac. I don't think that there is a more beautiful picnic spot in the entire park.

Day 4 - Plitvice Lakes National Park

Since I already did the longest tour yesterday, I decide for the shorter (just 8 instead of 18 km) but equally beautiful tour C today (though everything here is beautiful, of course). Starting point is at Entrance 1. The trail brings me once again to the great waterfall (Veliki Slap). And I also walk along the eastern shore of Lake Kozjak. But instead of walking the western shore, I take the boat this time. Please note that the boat shuttle (P3 to P2) starts only at 8:30 am. If you are an early bird like me you may have to wait quite some time.

We pass Štefanija’s Island, named after the Austrian crown princess Stephanie who visited the lakes in 1888. It's a beautiful island located right in the middle of Lake Kozjak (koza = goat). The lake owes its name to a sad legend saying that goats once tried to reach Štefanija’s island over thin ice and drowned.

As soon as I leave the boat, I walk the trails along the upper lakes and waterfalls. It's still September, but autumn is already in the wings - the leaves are turning colors. It's so beautiful and breathtaking. To get back to starting point I take the panoramic train which leaves every 15 minutes.

Watching Bats in Barać Caves

It's been a long tradition to bring visitors into the Barać caves to show them the natural habitat of hundreds of bats and all those beautiful stalagmites and stalactites that grow here for million of years. Our tour guide Andrija who has been working the caves for more than ten years is still enthusiastic about exploring the caves with visitors. Today, it's a very small group - just two dutch traveling the world and me.

Our first stop is a discovery site where archeologists have found cave bear remains. It's the first time I have heard about cave bears - a species that lived in Europe thousands of years ago. By the way, they got their names because their remains were found almost exclusively in caves (most of them probably got lost in the dark and died). The bear on the cavefloor was probably a young animal that had fallen down a shaft and could not get out on his own. The poor. But animals were not the only ones that were part of the hidden world beneath the earth's surface. Humans must have used the caves for shelter as well, because archeologists have found a bracelet from the Bronze Age.

Today the caves are home to a colony of bats. In summer, approximately 100 bats stay in the cave, though masses of tourists visit their habitat every day. In winter, when the caves are closed to the public, the number increases fivefold. As we continue walking, we see two of them hanging over our heads. It is amazing to see their small bodies wrapped in their wings hanging effortlessly from the stalactites. What is also very impressive: to experience a cave in total darkness. Arriving at the end of the trail, Andrija turns off the light for a few seconds. And then suddenly there is nothing, no sound, no light, just nothing. It's like we too have stopped breathing. No one would find their way back to the entrance, says Andrija. I am damn sure he is right.