欧洲有个“九寨沟” 克罗地亚十六湖国家公园 Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

欧洲的九寨沟 - 克罗地亚普利特维采湖国家公园 Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

普利特维采湖群国家公园(Plitvice Lakes National Park)这个名称，一定不会引起中国人的太多注意，更何况它还藏在欧洲冷门国家克罗地亚的森林深处。当为数甚少的中国人偶然踏足此处，他们的惊讶可是不 一般：这里和我们的九寨沟怎 么如此相似？普利特维采湖群国家公园由16 个大大小小的湖泊组成，所以又简称“十六湖”国家公园。“十六湖”公园建于1949 年，是东南欧最老的国家公园，也是克罗地亚最大的国家公园，它位于克罗地亚中部，和波黑接壤，占地近297 平方公里，海拔跨度很大，从367 米到1279 米。

欧洲“九寨沟” - 普利特维采湖群国家公园又称十六湖国家公园 Wooden footbridges follow the rumbling water in the stunning Plitvice Lakes National Park 

“十六湖”是“九寨沟”的姐姐。早在1979 年，因出众的自然美景和典型的喀斯特地貌，“十六湖”就作为自然遗产被联合国教科文组织列入 “世界遗产名录”，比九寨沟早了整整13 年。但后起之秀的“妹妹”大有超越“姐姐”之势：九寨沟早已蜚声世界，可“十六湖”直到最近才和乌兰巴托、塔斯马尼亚、撒丁岛等相对偏门的旅游目的地一起 被美国《国家地理》评为2011 年20 个最佳去处，究其原因，不排除南斯拉夫解体前后的动荡时局对当地旅游业的打击。

秋天的“十六湖”国家公园 Fall Foliage in the Plitvice Lakes National Park

既然“十六湖”和“九寨沟”像对孪生姐妹，我们不妨让她们进行PK。湖：命名是一种脑残的艺术“十六湖”的湖名异常质朴，甚至有中国人用“脑残”去 形容这些名字，譬如其中有4 个湖分别被直白地命名为“大湖”、“小湖”、“圆湖”和“漩涡湖”；另外一些名字也不见得出色：“隐士湖”，因为湖畔的洞穴中曾有僧侣隐居；“加万湖”， 传说有个叫“加万”的人在湖底埋下一笔宝藏。相比之下，九寨沟的湖名是多么诗情画意：火花海，箭竹海、双龙海、五彩池、镜海……

十六湖国家公园清澈的湖泊 Turquoise-colored lakes in Plitvice National Park in Croatia

“十六湖”呈带状蜿蜒在山谷中，分为上、下湖区，聚集了12个湖泊的上湖区湖底是白云石，下湖区则是位于石灰石的峡谷。纯白云石为白色，含铁时 呈灰色，风化后又变成褐色，再加上水中微生物和光照角度的不同，令湖水的颜色变幻莫测。而九寨沟的118 个湖泊则分布在呈“Y”字型排列的三条山沟内，这里向来以水而闻名，因为在众多的水体中，几乎无一例外地富含一种被称为钙华的物质。所谓钙华，是指湖泊、 河流或泉水中形成的以碳酸钙为主的沉积物。灰白色的钙华和它周边黄绿色的藻类对透射光有着选择性的吸收与反射，因而能增添湖水色彩的层次和变化。“十六 湖”的美丽同样是因为钙华。

克罗地亚十六湖国家公园 Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia

普利特维采湖群国家公园的瀑布 Waterfalls in the Plitvice Lakes National Park

瀑：树的梳子昼夜不停梳着水的头发

把16 个湖泊串联在一起的，是一条水路，由于有落差，水势跌宕起伏，形成大大小小的瀑布。其中落差最高的瀑布在下湖区末端，高达78 米；排第二的瀑布在上湖区，25 米高。九寨沟有5 大瀑布，最高的是熊猫海瀑布，有80 米高，但却远比不上只有二十多米高的诺日朗、树正瀑布出名。可以说，“十六湖”和九寨沟的瀑布都不是一泻千里、气吞河山型的，它们都有个特征：与湖为伍， 以树为伴。不少瀑布是透过树丛缝隙漫溢出来，轻轻柔柔摇曳而去。这些瀑布的顶端通常都长着一排水柳，枝叶攀搭，宛如一堵绿色的墙；绿墙下的树干间隔有序， 好像一把长齿梳昼夜不停地梳理着源源不断的水流。

克罗地亚十六湖国家公园 Veliki Slap is the tallest waterfall in the Plitvice Lakes National Park

树：遗落人间的调色板

熟悉九寨沟的人都知道，九寨沟的秋天是一场色彩的饕餮盛宴，因为它地处四川盆地和青藏高原接壤的边缘地带，生长着冷杉、云杉、红桦、箭竹、杜 鹃、椴木、珍珠梅和花楸等树种，种类繁多的植物垂直分布，到了秋天，被风霜染红、染黄、染紫的各色彩叶如同波浪一样从山上到山下一浪接一浪地奔涌，最后覆 盖了整个九寨沟。

克罗地亚十六湖国家公园的秋天 Fall Foliage in the Plitvice Lakes National Park

“十六湖”的秋天也不逊色，这里的植被群落混合了阿尔卑斯山和地中海的植被，成群的山毛榉树、云杉和冷杉是它的调色板。在“十六湖”的一千多种 植物中，有28 种是巴尔干地区所独有的，包括著名的“青蛙花”，另外还有14 种植物是欧洲独有的。这些湖畔山中的花草树木和湖水里的苔藓藻类交相辉映，让十六湖生机勃勃，一年上演着永不落幕的“山水秀”。

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia's most popular tourist attraction

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979, Plitvice National Park in Croatia is considered to be one of the most beautiful natural sights in Europe. The stunning Plitvice Lakes National Park lies in the Lika region of Croatia. The park is surrounded by the mountains Plješevica, Mala Kapela, and Medveđak, which are part of the Dinaric Alps. The 16 blue-green Plitvice Lakes, which are separated by natural dams of travertine, are situated on the Plitvice plateau. Waterfalls connect the lakes, and the tallest waterfall is Veliki Slap at 70 meters (230 feet) tall. The Plitvice lakes area boasts a large variety of interesting and colorful flora and fauna. Wooden footbridges follow the rumbling water for an exhilaratingly damp 18km (11mi).

Animal life flourishes in the unspoiled conditions. The stars of the park are bears and wolves, but there are also deer, boar, rabbits, foxes and badgers. There are over 120 different species of bird such as hawks, owls, cuckoos, thrushes, starlings, kingfishers, wild ducks and herons. You might also occasionally see black storks and ospreys. Flocks of butterflies flutter throughout the park.
Visitors can enjoy walking and hiking the many pathways and trails, or exploring the lakes by boat. The park itself has 3 hotels and a campsite, otherwise visitors can find accommodation at any of the number of villages and cities nearby.

Website: www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr

One of Europe's top natural wonders is Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park

Attractions

Plitvice is a hikers’ paradise, but even couch potatoes can see most of the park’s features by combining walking with riding on the Plitvice ferries and buses. Ulaz 2 is roughly in the middle of the park, so if you start there, you can easily get to Proscansko, the highest and largest lake in the park, 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 reach out and touch. Tip: Don’t try this. Swimming is forbidden, as is walking on the travertine.
You can also follow the signs here 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.