Can
you hear it? The gentle sound of clear, cool water, trickling down a brook and
growing louder as it plunges over a waterfall into a gloriously blue lake just
below. Can you feel the cool mist on your cheeks and lips, and the
waterfall-inspired breeze rippling your hair? Can you smell
it? All that fresh, green, ripe vegetation that makes a forest the haven that
it is. Rich, green leaves hanging from tree branches, soft moss, algae, and
flowers.
Take
a cool, deep, relaxing breath, and a nice, long look around, for you have
wandered into Plitvice National Park in Croatia.
By
all accounts, this is a beautiful and amazing place. One of Mother Nature’s
best. It`s really everything you
would picture in a National Park: birds, trees, deer and bear, flowers and
fungus. Some of these species are even endemic. It offers fresh air and paths
to hike. And there`s even a town for when you need to rest your feet in between
amazing hikes.
But it has something else, too.
Something you won`t find in a whole lot of other places on this planet of ours.
Something of amazing beauty.
It begins in the upper regions
of the park. (And you`ll find out what makes it so “Upper” in just a minute.)
Here a river pours into a beautiful blue lake deep in the woods.
On another edge of that lake,
water pours out in a waterfall, like a sink that’s been filled too high, and
empties into – another lake on a lower plateau! On another edge of this lake,
the water again pours over the rim and into yet another lake just a bit further
down.
Would you believe this carries
on for sixteen lakes in succession? Like a big watery staircase, it stretches
across the park, each lake presenting it’s own system of beautiful waterfalls
pouring into the next lake. The difference between the highest (or upper) lakes
and the lower ones is about 400 feet. That’s
quite a drop! And some of these lakes are separated by a strip of land no wider than the average road.
The lakes are said to be known for their many colors. They are
deep blue, green, or grey. And these colors frequently change depending upon
the lake’s mineral content or the level of sunlight.
Walks have been built that allow visitors to stroll among the
breathtaking beauty, but, if you’re brave and skilled enough, it’s also
possible to explore the lakes by boat. What an adventure that would be.
Then, when you’re done admiring the gorgeous lakes, you can begin
exploring the network of caves that make up Plitvice’s underground world.
So what causes such a
phenomenon? It all has to do with the kind of geology that happens to make up
that patch of the world. Limestone makes bowls in the earth which make natural
depositories of the river’s flow. The same limestone is worn into cave
formations. They make for great exploration, and fossils found in their depths
suggest this isn’t a new thought.
That’s the scientific
explanation for the existence of this unusual lake chain. An ancient legend
says that, long, long ago, the people were very thirsty, so they asked a magic
queen to provide water, and she, very obligingly, created this beautiful place.
However it came to be, end
result is a gorgeous piece of wilderness which, quite naturally, attracts all
species of wildlife. There are over 170 species of birds, wild cats, otter and
even brown bears roaming these lush forests.
So, if you’re ever in Croatia,
don’t pass up the chance to visit this beautiful, natural wonder. And send me a
post card, would you?
Photo by: Pablo BM from London, England
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