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Miscellaneous

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

The excursion to the Plitvice Lakes National Park offers to our visitors the possibility to discover the oldest national park in Southeast Europe, and the biggest and the most visited national park in Croatia. The Plitvice Lakes region was proclaimed a national park in 1949, and because of the unique quality of the natural landscape and biodiversity it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register in 1979.

The protected area covers 296 square kilometers, although the most popular part of the park are the trails around the 16 lakes.

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The Plitvice Lakes National Park is some 137 km from Zagreb (D1 national route), 257 km from Split. The Plitvice Lakes are 447 km from Dubrovnik. If you are on holiday on the Adriatic coast we suggest to come to Zagreb by plane, make a nice excursion to the Plitvice Lakes and a visit of Zagreb, and get back to Dubrovnik/Split/Zadar/Pula later in the evening.

The legend about the Plitvice Lakes reveals the harsh reality of the Dinaric karst of the region.

Once upon a time, when there was no rain for a very long time, a life-threatening drought was killing animals and destroying flora, people started to pray to the Black Queen. After a long period she has finally shown mercy sending black clouds full of rain. When rain started to fall, it seemed it will never end, filling the underground first and then creating beautiful lakes. We are reminded of this legend whenever the weather changes in this mountainous region.

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The greater region around the Plitvice Lakes National Park – Lika and Gorski Kotar is the less populated region of Croatia but the most popular destinations among Croatian green travelers. Hikers and trekkers continue to the Velebit mountain and its two national parks: Paklenica National Park and The Northern Velebit National Park and one park of nature: Velebit Park of Nature. Please keep in mind that the word “park” here does not mean you can go alone for a walk. This is a mistake many foreing travelers do when they read the title and see how close it is to the Adriatic coast.

Visiting Zagreb

Visiting Zagreb

Here are some practical information for those of you coming to Zagreb and wishing to explore the city.

The Zagreb cathedral is open for visitors form 10 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday, on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm.  Outside those hours you can enter but without a guide, and you probably won’t be able to look around and photograph, because of the masses. Often the visit is not possible on major religious holidays.

The Dolac farmer’s market – a very popular site for visitors, but also for the citizens of Zagreb. Open 7 days a week from early morning until approximately 2 pm. But closed on holidays. Top days to visit Dolac farmer’s Market are Friday and Saturday. That’s when most of us go for shopping and coffee with friends. The peak is at noon, but the coffee can last until later in the afternoon.

If you are interested in cultural discoveries, you should know that most of Zagreb museums are closed on Mondays, and have shorter working hours (until 1 pm) during the weekends. Some museums are breaking the rules, but if you have some specific interests you should better check.

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The public transport in Zagreb. The oldest and first is the Zagreb Funicular, since 1890. The ticket costs four kunas per person. The Zagreb Tram (Zagreb Electrical Tram, ZET) covers most of the city regions. One ticket costs 10 kunas, and lasts for 1,5 hours.  A full day ticket costs 30 kunas. From 0-4 (four) am the ticket costs 15 kunas.

Drinking. Tap water is perfectly drinkable in Zagreb. But, follow the news of cours, with the climate change and possible floodings that can change too.

Croatia is a country with a long tradition of drinking beer, wine and brandies. There is a range of popular Croatian beers, like Karlovacko, Velebit or Ozujsko. But in most cafes you can order all international brands.

Discover Croatian wines, ask for a suggestion from a waiter in a restaurant or bar. National wines get more and more awards every year. Croatia has excellent wines both from the coast – Dalmatia and Istria as from the continental region – the Zagreb County wine roads are getting more and more popular because of the vicinity.  But then there are Slavoninan wines and wines from Medjimurje and Moslavina.

About eating we’ll talk in one of the next blogs.

 Zagreb Time Machine and other events organized by the Zagreb Tourist Board are usually held on weekends, some on a specific hour so it’s not always possible to see them. For example: the changing of the Croatian Guard.

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