Plitvicka jezera in winter

A few images from today, taken in a very snowy Plitvicka jezera (Plitvice Lakes) national park, Croatia. I timed this particular visit to arrive after four days of snow and sub-zero temperatures, so that the icicles on the waterfalls didn’t melt. This also meant that the section of the national park I planned to visit was officially closed, so I had to seek special permission to get into that bit (that is, get in with a 3-minute boat trip rather than walking the long way round by road, which would have lost me half the day!). Croatia’s first area to be declared a national park (back in 1949), and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Plitvicka jezera gets incredibly busy in the summer – but in the winter it’s surprisingly quiet, and you get large sections of trail to yourself.

One of the best-known views in the national park, the trail winding across Kaluderovac lake

The trail between Kaluderovac and Veliki slap (the highest waterfall in the national park)

Gradinsko lake in the ‘closed’ (for the next few days, anyway) southern section of the national park

Veliki prstevac, the waterfall I had come to photograph at this time of year, near Gradinsko lake

Icicles beside Kozjak lake

Waiting to be picked up by the ferry

All images copyright Rudolf Abraham. No unauthorized use permitted.