Croatia’s rugged interior hides one of Europe’s most exotic hikes: Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Years ago, after a dozen or so visits, I thought I really knew Europe. Then I discovered Plitvice and realized you can never exhaust Europe of its surprises.
As I continue along a path leading to more picturesque cascades, I ponder the strange juxtaposition of Plitvice’s overwhelming natural beauty with its wartime misfortunes. On Easter Sunday in 1991, the first shots of Croatia’s war of independence from Yugoslavia were fired in this park. The predominantly Serbian Yugoslav army occupied Plitvice and the surrounding region until 1995, and most of the Croatians you’ll meet here were evacuated and lived near the coastline as refugees.
At the far side of the lake, more boardwalks lead to the most spectacular stretch of the trail – a wonderland of sleepy trout, Monet greenery, and frisky falls. There are a million ways to catch tiny rainbows in the mist as boardwalks wind around and above the bridal fair of lacy waterfalls. The lazy trout seem to understand that fishing is forbidden – they’re huge, plentiful, and oblivious to the many visitors. As I hike, I watch for the park’s fabled wildlife.
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