Day 16: Plitvice Half Marathon

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By Riana

No trip to Croatia would be complete without a visit to Plitvice.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is a collection of 16 turquoise-blue lakes that are connected by a series of waterfalls, situated in a gorge that is surrounded by natural forest. Today is the day that we tick this natural wonder off of our Bucket Lists!

Upon arrival, we found out that today is also the annual Plitvice marathon and half-marathon, and as we approached the entrance gate, we walked past several athletes on their way to the starting point.

Once we were inside the park, we took the ferry across one of the bigger lakes to explore the area around the lower lakes. At the end of the walkway the Veliki Slap (the large waterfall) sits majestically as the water continues to tumble the 70 meters from the crown of the fall to the lake at the bottom. We hiked up the one edge of the gorge, just to be amazed by the picture-perfect views of the bluest blue lakes, bright green forest and never-ending sight of waterfalls! Definitely worth the hike up!

On the opposite side of the gorge we found a pathway that is off the beaten track, with equally breathtaking views. This is also where we decided to have our lunch of crackers, cheese and tomatoes. Our further explorations lead us to a house built over the river just before the water tumbles over the waterfall, a viewpoint from the top of the waterfall, and a small track that led us partway down the waterfall. We were still looking for a pathway that could take us to a lower viewpoint my mom thought she spotted from one of the walkways, when we found ourselves on a beautiful forest hike. The trail we were on were definitely not going down to the viewpoint, but it was a beautiful detour to take!

At this point we were all looking forward to something to drink, and with rainclouds gathering above, we headed to the entrance shop. We arrived just in time, as the rain started pouring down. Drinks in hand, huddled under a piece of roof with dozens of other tourists, we waited for the rain to clear.

The day at Plitvice ended with a quick walk around some of the upper lakes, a sneak peek for what is lying ahead tomorrow.
As we reached the car at the end of the day, I checked my watch to see how far we walked during the day – 21km. Plitvice half marathon: done!

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