We have had seven idyllic weeks in Bale so far, enjoying a summer like none I have ever known. Our time in Croatia is drawing to an end however so we have embarked on a week long trip exploring outside of Istria into Dalmatia.

The first destination is across to Plitvice (Plit vizza) and specifically the National Park. This is a UNESCO listed area of natural beauty about 3.5 hours drive from Bale.

We leave Bale Monday 2nd Sept in the afternoon, it has been hot; in the 30’s for weeks with no respite, so we are looking forward to some cooler weather in the mountains as the season turns towards Autumn (Autunno).

As luck would have it we drive straight into a strong weather front that tails us all the way as we drive through Kanfanar, Pazin and the Ucka tunnel towards Sagreb…

We bypass beautiful Rijeka still heading towards Zagreb and Split before deviating off towards Split, stilled tailed the whole way by stormy weather.

Our journey continues west and then turns South as we head towards the middle of Croatia. The storm catches us and there is lightning, thunder, heavy rain and hail and I’m so grateful for Rob’s excellent driving skills!

The drive through the mountains during a storm on narrow winding roads is exhilarating to say the least, but there is little traffic thankfully and we arrive safely at Plitvice around 7pm.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

The park is 295 sq km of designated forest reserve; since about 1949 and it’s easy to see why. Comprised of a chain of 16 lakes cascading into each other with inspiring walkways around and over the lakes including up and down waterfalls this place is truly one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Rob and I spent the whole day starting out on Programme C (about 8 km’s) but we enjoyed the park so much we extended our walk and did over 18km’s with a full circuit including some crisscrossing and also returning to favourite spots.

The park caters well to all with ferries and shorter walking programmes including boat rides and is well catered with cafes, picnic areas and toilets.

We arrived early, just after 8am to get ahead of the bigger groups and to get some photos of the bigger spaces without to many people in them which I would highly recommend.

Our day stared out cool and wet after the heavy rain the night before which made the waterfalls even bigger! By the afternoon the sun was out and the sky’s blue again.

Between us we took about 300 photos. I’ve included our favourites here for you.

Amazing walk way up a waterfall!

If you visit Croatia please ensure the Plitvice Lakes is part of your itinerary! I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Plan to spend the whole day, go early and take your time. So beautiful it made my heart sing!

Interesting too that the lakes form only about 1% of the total National Park Reserve. A big nod to Croatia for recognising and protecting these very special places of Natural beauty and what a great job they have done with the walkways that showcase the lakes to their very best advantage And allow people to enjoy them so closely. I never thought I would walk up and down waterfalls.

I love this place!!!

Next up we are off to Dubrovnik which is a big drive, about 5.5hours and we plan to visit Pag Island on the way back to Bale so that we can catch up with Rob’s cousin Ervin.