Is there a better way to show young people the importance of being in nature than to take them to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, where there is no hustle and bustle of everyday life, and the beautiful nature leaves a special impression on everyone?

On May 8, students of the Prva gimnazija Varaždin together with a team of teachers who participated in the Erasmus+ project “Under the European Stars” took students and teachers from Finland, Spain and Hungary on a tour of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. That trip represented the peak of Croatian mobility, and the goal of the visit was to show the participants how nature arouses various emotions in us, such as joy, calmness, creativity, reduces stress, anxiety and depression, but also to amaze them with its stunning beauty.

The Plitvice Lakes – a paradise for nature lovers

The Plitvice Lakes are the oldest, largest and most visited national park in the Republic of Croatia. They were declared a national park on April 8, 1949. They are located between the mountains of Mala Kapela in the west and Plješivice in the east in the middle of the Dinaric mountain massif and along the state road D1 Zagreb – Split between Slunj and Korenica in the immediate vicinity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The national park consists of 16 lakes, which gradually overflow and descend into each other in a series of 5460 m as the crow flies and are divided into Upper and Lower Lakes. The largest lake is Kozjak with an area of ​​81.5 hectares, and also the deepest with 47 m. The geological structure of the Upper Lakes is mainly dolomite, while the Lower Lakes are made of limestone. The climate is moderate mountain. In addition to stunning lakes, the national park is also adorned with rich flora and fauna. As many as 1267 different plant species are registered in the Park, of which as many as 50 species of orchids. The most common type of tree is beech, while the yellow lady’s foot (Cypripedium calceolus) is a rare plant species. Of the mushrooms, the saprophytic Camarops tubulina mushroom, which lives on rotten trees in the Čorkova Bay rainforest, is a protected and endangered species. Among the animals, you can find black salamanders, bats, little buzzards, gray wolves, peregrine falcons (on the rocks in the Korana river canyon), dragonflies, mosquitoes, trout and river crabs.

Discovering the mesmerizing beauty of the Plitvice Lakes

Despite the cloudy and rather cool day, the students and professors set off to see the Plitvice Lakes with smiles on their faces. Arriving in the park itself, they first rode the electric train to the beginning of the Upper Lakes tour. This was followed by a hike along the lakes on wet and slippery boardwalks. The splashing of cold water from the lake and its transparency and blue color made a strong impression on the Finish students. With laughter and exclamations of “Wow” and “It’s so beautiful”, the walk from Upper Lakes to the harbor on the largest lake Kozjak went by very quickly. The walk was followed by a fifteen-minute boat ride. After landing on land, there was a break for food, coffee or buying souvenirs. The students were delighted with the distinct greenery that prevails in the national park. After refreshments, the Erasmus team happily continued a tour to the Lower Lakes. Exploring the park was followed by a song, selfies with friends and a few falls. At the very end of the tour, they also saw the Great Waterfall, where a group photo of all project participants was taken. At the end of the tour, everyone was exhausted, muddy and tired, but also happy and amazed by the beauty of the Plitvice Lakes. On the way to Varaždin, there was a refreshment at Burger King. Arriving in Varaždin, the students said goodbye to each other and wished each other a safe return home. The tour of the Plitvice Lakes slowed down a comeback to everyday life that awaited them the next day. Many friendships were made and new memories were created that will be remembered for a lifetime.

The healing power of nature

Regardless of the participants general attitude towards nature, the visit to the Plitvice Lakes was an opportunity to directly experience the healing power of nature. All the participants realized how being immersed in greenary, exploring the lakes and the surrouniding forest for a whole day reduced stress, feelings of anger, fear of the new and the unknown and increased the feeling of satisfaction because nature heals and energizes us in a special way. High school students in today’s world do not feel as connected to nature as young people did in the past, and the visit to the Plitvice Lakes allowed them to feel connected to nature, to realize that they are a part of it and that they need to take care of it so that it will be a refuge for the next generations when they need it.

Written by Ema Borko, a student at Prva gimnazija Varaždin