Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Sept 12 - 14

On our last night in Split we met Keiran at the hostel and discovered that we were heading to the same hostel in Plitvice, so we shared a car to make the journey quicker. The drive was ridiculously stunning. We followed the coast for a little while, before we turned inland where we got incredible mountains and lakes all around us.

When we arrived into Korenica (nearby Plitvice) we checked into our hostel and went out for lunch. Shortly after devouring my soup and grilled veggies I declared it wasthe "best"meal I'd had in Croatia - tasty and cheap! It didn't take me long to retract my statement when I was curled up in bed with stomach pains and dizziness. Fructose...you got me again.

Later in the afternoon, when I had recovered from my lunch sickness, we went out for a hike. An epic hike!

We'd been advised to time our hike up Mrsinj so that we could see sunset at the top. However...we left a little late. So we ended up absolutely legging it to the top. We made it up there in record time, and thankfully there was still some sunlight to enjoy the spectacular view.

The skies gradually changed colour and we sat on the rocks to enjoy the sunset.

Before it got too dark we headed back down again, in order to avoid walking the steep slippery path in total darkness.

We cooked up a feast at the hostel to reward ourselves for the fast-paced hike.

The next day we had another early start, aiming to get to Plitvice Lakes ahead of the crowds. We got into the park before 8am, allowing us an hour or so of peaceful walking before the masses piled in.

We walked around the upper lakes, enjoying many waterfalls and beautifully bright blue/green waters.

By the time we made it to the lower lakes there were ridiculous amounts of tourists. For me, hustling past big groups of people took away from the experience a little. And it's not even the high sesson any more - I hate to think how busy it was a month ago!!

Regardless, the waterfalls and lakes we passed by were incredible.

We had a lazy afternoon and evening at the hostel, preparing ourselves for the enourmous hike we had in store the next day.

Pljesevica Mountain sits 1657m high, on the border of Croatia and Bosnia. Before departing, the staff at the hostel gave us an instruction sheet that included fun facts like: "There are bears and poisonous snakes on this trail" and "There are landmines in the forest" How could we say no to hike with bears and snakes and landmines?! Jackpot.

When we parked our car at the base we met Bruce the dog. The little champion followed us all the way up. 

We started the hike up nice and early, walking firstly through fog. It didn't take us long to get up above the fog, catching our first mountainous view.

The climb up was hard. Steep. Unstable. Marked only by red and white dots on the trees. I swallowed a fly at one point. Amazingly, we only went off track once! 

When we were very nearly at the top, we stopped to rest up on top of what I assume is a little power box. With a view like that, why wouldn't you take a break?!

On the last little stretch of the hike we saw numerous signs warning us of landmines on the Bosnian side of the mountain.

Once we were at the top we got incredible views of both Croatia and Bosnia. 

We found a huge boulder to rest on and enjoy the neverending mountains.

Before we knew it we were sitting amongst the clouds!

Side note: I dropped my phone off this boulder, which we agreed was at least 15m high. It bounced multiple times on the way down....and somehow landed without a scratch!! Whaaaaaat?! Magic.

The mountain is also home to an abandoned military base, used during the Yugoslavian civil war. We had a little roam around the house and tunnels, careful to come out the same place we came in...so as not to end up in the landmine-filled forest on the Bosnian side!

On the way down I saw a snake! And screamed! But we saw no bears.

What a little legend!