A day in the Winter Wonderland of Croatia

Majestic views of the trees in Plitvice, the gushing stream of water falling down the falls, the picturesque views; as soon as you start a stroll in the Plitvice lakes, takes your breath away.

Whenever I plan an itinerary of a place, I always look up on the internet what the place is famous for and something that’s close to nature. I am a tree hugger, you’d rather find me hiking on a weekend than at a bar partying with friends. Considering that, I decided to definitely visit this #HeavenOnEarth. My trip started around Christmas and I had planned to visit 3 countries during my winter break. After celebrating the world famous Christmas in Strasbourg, France, I continued on my journey to Croatia(the most awaited country) through Czech and Hungary. I reached Zagreb - the capital of Croatia early in the morning. The chilly weather made me shiver but the warm coffee at the bus station reminded me of the beautiful place I was now going to see.

At the bus station, I asked for a ticket to the Plitvice lakes but they had only one for early morning the next day. Considering that the most profitable option, I bought it.

Here’s how you can buy yours. If you are younger than 26 years, you can get the tickets at a cheaper rate(like every other place in Europe).

Another tip while getting the tickets is to buy the round trip tickets with the same company, else you pay a lot more on the bus while buying separate ones.

During the day I walked around the city of Zagreb visiting the unusual museum “Museum of broken relationships” and the city center. I spent the night at a hostel that I booked through Hostelworld.

In the morning I woke up at 6 am, picking up my bag and walking out of the dorm like a cat so as not to wake the others up!

It was pretty chilly as it was the 2nd of January. I walked to the station and waited for my bus to arrive. It was only a 2.5 hour wait now. After a little nap that I had in the bus, I woke up to see that we’d reached our destination. Everybody got down and waited for their turn to buy the tickets. When the tour started, we were put in groups of 8-10 people so as not to get lost. It being winters, it had snowed a lot and we risked slipping on it although it felt cozy as the warm sun shone. As soon as we entered the park, we could see the whole place draped in a white layer of snow slowly melting away. The pathways were barely visible, the water in some of the falls had frozen and it looked so much better with less people around! It definitely is a place very famous among the tourists but this was unusually a very good time to visit the Plitvice lakes. The whole place looked like a scene from the movie Frozen with the warmth of the sun rays hitting our faces while the cold froze our hands.

Sadly to our disappointment, the guide told us we won’t be able to visit the other part of the park as it was shut down following the landslide earlier in the night.

While walking through the quaint and narrow bridges of the park, I wished only to capture most of it in my eyes. But one definitely needs some pictures when visiting such an amazing place.

The Upper Lakes

The water in the lakes looked nothing like I’d imagined, it wasn’t frozen most importantly! It was a vast bowl of dark blue-turquoise water reflecting the rays of the sun onto our faces and shining bright. It was clear enough to catch a swimming fish with your hand(ofcourse, only if you’re fast enough)!

The waterfalls on the other hand, looked like the falling white strands of hair of an old lady who has lived a fulfilled life, and the unclothed trees still looked strong in order to welcome the spring.

After covering half the distance, we reached a coffee shop. The snow was in my shoes now and I could really use some coffee. I got one for myself and sat outside under the warmth of the cheerful sun looking at the ducks swimming at the shore of the lake.

We were now going to take a boat to the other end of the lake to end our stroll in this magnificent scenery. The boat ride started and I couldn’t control my excitement! The water seemed much closer and I touched it only to feel(read as unfeel) my frozen fingers! I took a lot of pictures to never forget this day also for my virtual memory. The boat took us around the little island and then to the end of our picnic. We walked a little more to the entrance and had some fun with snowballs. There was an old man, I asked him to make a video of me playing with the snow, which was followed by something very obvious; yes, my frozen fingers!

We took a couple more pictures on a throne trying to avoid leaving the beautiful place we were at.

Plitvice wasn’t the park I’d imagined it’d be. It was very different from that in summers(I’ve seen that only in pictures) but this was an experience of a lifetime. Even though I couldn’t see the whole park, even though I had to shiver in the cold, even though I couldn’t hear the loud thrust of the waterfalls, I still loved this winter wonderland I visited in Croatia which is definitely god’s own country.

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Some tips when you visit Plitvice Lakes -

1. Try to stay in the nearby cottages in the same village of Plitvice and not in Zagreb, to avoid having to go back early as the frequency of the buses isn’t too high during winters.

2. Plan going during the summers because you might not get to see as much during the winters because of the snow.

3. Wear good shoes, irrespective of the weather.

4. It'd approximately take you at least 5-6 hours if you go during the summers but you can always stay for a longer time.

5. Bring something to eat and have a picnic by the lake.

6. Book your tickets to the park before a day or two, as you cannot leave the very same day.

7. Do not bring your swimsuit along as it’s prohibited to swim there because it’s a UNESCO heritage.

8. Don’t forget to have fun, no matter wherever you go.