CROATIA: THE PLITVICE LAKES

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is, without a doubt, one of the most striking places in Europe, and perhaps in the world. It is surrounded by an area of ​​29,685 hectares, rich in natural wonders, flora and fauna, and breathtaking landscapes. A system of lakes tied to each other by waterfalls. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is located halfway between Zagreb, Croatia's capital and Zara in Dalmatia. It is comprised of 16 lakes fed by the Rijeka and Crna Rijeka rivers (White River and Black River) and underground springs, linked by them from a series of waterfalls that flow into the river Korana.
In 1979 they were proclaimed World Heritage by UNESCO and can be visited thanks to a well-marked network of paths and 18 km of wooden walkways giving the waterway a unique charm.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is part of the wider dinaric karst area, characterized by karst shapes and by rare phenomena of superficial water courses and by a strong bond between the surface and the subsoil through the numerous cracks. From here the extraordinary place is born.
Not all areas are accessible to visitors, but there are many miles of green trails and wooden skyscrapers available, suitable for exploration and nature walks. But the real flagship of the Park is the 16 lakes, which are in succession and connected to each other by waterfalls. We are close to Italy, only 168 km from Rijeka and 140 from Zagreb.

The peculiarity of the site is determined precisely by its karst structure and by the fact that there are few effusive rivers, most of the water flows through the subsoil until it encounters a limestone structure that represents an obstacle to its flow, perhaps an area of waterproof rock that forces it to emerge on the surface forming the numerous streams, which in turn feed the lakes.

The park is divided into two parts: the lower part, comfortably accessible and full of waterfalls, lakes and gangways, and the upper part, which represents the entire reserve area, only accessible if accompanied by guides. Keep in mind that in these valleys live about 1,500 bears so it is not very smart to go around forests alone.
One thing to keep in mind is that walking on moving walkways when taking photographs with very long times to get motion blur, you should try to position the tripod outside the walkways because they are very mobile and vibrate even if someone goes to a hundreds of feet from us.

The area is very accommodating and full of hotels and B & Bs so there are no problems from this point of view.
Personally I was there in the fall and the colors were wonderful but I propose to go back in winter because the frozen waterfalls are a real show.

In short, a trip to this country will certainly give us great satisfaction (and photographs).

If you want to travel to Plitvice and be sure to photograph the best landscapes and fauna in these places, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to accompany you.

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For information on travel organization contact the author at the contact details provided in the "contacts" section.