Croatia - Eastern Europe - page 201

roasted meat by the kilo and picnic in the woods. There are a few sandwich conces-
sions within the park itself as well as hotel restaurants, but there is only one free-stand-
ing restaurant within walking distance of the park hotels. But if you stay at one of the
park hotels, try Li c Ku c a at Ulaz 1 ( & 053/751-023 ), a touristy but interesting
restaurant with a wood-burning stove large enough to roast a whole cow and a menu
laden with authentic Lika dishes.
EXPLORING PLITVICE
Plitvice is hiker heaven, but even couch potatoes can see most of Plitvice's features by
combining walking with riding on the park's ferries and buses. Ulaz 2 is roughly in the
middle of the park, so if you start there, you can easily get to Pro s5 ansko, the park's
highest and largest lake, which is ringed by a hilly green landscape. No waterfalls here,
as you are at the top of the cascade. From Ulaz 2 it is a quick downhill walk to a ferry,
which will take you toward paths flanked by waterfalls you can almost touch. Note:
Don't try this. Swimming is forbidden, as is walking on the travertine.
Follow the signs to the foot of Veliki Slap (Big Waterfall), where slender streams
of water zoom off the vertical granite face into Korana Gorge. Veliki Slap is the most
dramatic waterfall in the park, and sometimes it seems that everyone is rushing to get
there. However, there are smaller falls, series of falls, and clusters of falls in other parts
of the park that are impressive, too.