Plitvice: Deep Gorges and Gorgeous Villages

About a 40 minute drive north of Mukinje is the incredibly picturesque village of Rastoke, which is so utterly charming that it’s difficult to know where to start to describe it in words. But we’ll give it a go….

Two rivers converge in the village, but one, the Slunjcica, enters at high level from the mountains; the other, the Korana, flows in from the bottom of the deep gorge and therefore at a much lower level. Consequently, the waters of the Slunjcica cascade down a series of waterfalls and rapids, flowing into the larger Korana in multiple places throughout the village. In fact, much of Rastoke is effectively built on islands with rushing water on all sides, islands which have been formed by calcium carbonate (limestone deposits) left by the water.

Water is everywhere, rushing between and below the houses, through gardens, cascading over rocks and providing wonderful locations for veranda restaurants. Remarkably, the respective water temperature of the two rivers makes for a stark contrast; the young Slunjcica is a cold mountain river which never exceeds 16 degrees, whilst the more mature Korana can reach an astonishing 28 degrees in summer.

Apart from the busy E1 road which runs through on a river bridge, everything about Rastoke is utterly charming, water is everywhere, either in the main rivers or tiny channels, all eventually cascading over the edge and down into the Korana via lofty waterfalls. The spray from the falls even creates rainbows in the afternoon sunshine. 

The natural phenomenon of fast flowing water made Rastoke the perfect location for water mills, and a great deal of the properties here were built for that purpose: 22 of those mills are still standing in one form or another, all built from local timber and stone. It is an impossibly picturesque place. Part of the village requires a small entry fee, in order to view the living museum which this part of Rastoke now is; well worth the visit to learn its history. 

The presence of the mills gave rise to the development of the adjoining town of Slunj, just across the Korana from Rastoke. Slunj itself is an ancient little town, and was in fact the very easternmost point of Napoleon’s empire during its short period of French rule. Looming over the town are the remains of a grain and munitions store built for Napoleon’s military whilst stationed here.

From our current home in Mukinje, the drive to Slunj traverses wonderfully lush green landscapes punctuated with limestone outcrops and deep gorges; this really is an area of amazing natural beauty with very regular wow moments. 

Since sampling the fresh trout, we have tackled the traditional local dish of peka – so much meat! – cooked over coals under a bell shaped cover; extremely succulent but a huge meal, even for two. And then trout again, on our last day here, this time in Rastoke itself.

From the quaint village of Dreznik, we hiked part of the “rutta voda”, (the “water route”), passing ancient mills and wells and descending the spectacular gorge to a point where the Korana river has disappeared into an underground course for the summer months. The whole hike was silent but for the buzz of insects; on our return to the car, the temperature gauge read 37 degrees. We were just a little tired.

So in our time here at Plitvice we have hiked two days around the lakes, explored delightful countryside and breathtakingly beautiful villages. We have seen – and photographed – some amazing wildlife, climbed the ski slope behind our guest house for great views over Mukinje and beyond, taken on hikes in spectacular locations around the castle remains at Dreznik, eaten some fabulous food. There is, by the way, something rather strange about walking in intense heat whilst looking at ski slopes and snow ploughs.

We got very lucky with the weather. Most of the drive up from Split was under cloud and in drizzle; our host Kristina told us on our arrival here that it had been a poor summer and evening temperatures were dipping to 11 degrees. Well, we’ve had none of that, every day has been around 34 degrees, endless sunshine, balmy evenings. Perfect.

This has been a wonderful few days and there is no doubt that we are leaving with very fond memories. 

But it’s time to move on. Next destination, the ancient coastal city of Sibenik.