Escape to myself

This was a wonderful day in bright sunshine in a stunning setting. A rare limestone geology (karst) has made lakes and waterfalls through a gorge. The Lakes are the most touristy part in a huge and wild area. Pine, cherry and beech forests are home to wolves, bears, lynx, wild boar, deer and much more though not where we were. We had a long stroll through the forest around the lakes and many waterfalls. Our tour included a boat trip across the largest lake.

The water was greenish blue and so clear. There were 16 lakes each connected by waterfalls and we saw most of them in a nine miles hike. The scenery was spectacular.

Photographs barely do it justice. The trip out through the park took about 3 hours through amazing countryside; mountain and steep wooded valleys were characteristic of the scenery and you can see why it is a UNESCO world heritage site. The small party of 13 were from all over the world and were friendly and charming. After our trek through the park we had a late lunch at an excellent restaurant. Chicken in a mushroom sauce.

The journey to the park took us through really isolated forests with many abandoned houses. Our guide explained that there was a real exodus to the towns from this primarily rural forestry and farming area. There were also many abandoned hotels caused by the building of a new motorway although tourism is an important source of income and there are many holiday apartments. There is only one road through the park and few settlements.