Plitvice Lakes: the most famous of Croatia’s parks

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Plitvice Lakes National Park (Plitvička Jezera), the best known of the Croatian national parks. This park is located in the interior of Croatia, in the Lika region, between the mountains of Mala Kapela and Pljesevica at an altitude of almost 700 meters above sea level and at a distance of 50 km from the sea.

The park is made up of numerous lakes connected to each other by some waterfalls formed by travertine rocks. Lakes are constantly changing, new sediments are forming, old waterfalls are drying up and new ones are being created. The lakes are a recent formation in geological terms, their formation dates back to the end of the last ice age, ie about 13,000 years ago.

WHAT TO SEE AT THE PLITVICE LAKES

The park area is home to numerous species of flora and fauna. The forests are mainly made up of beech, spruce, and Picea abies. They are characterized by a mix of alpine and Mediterranean vegetation. Among the animals stand out the brown bear, the wolf, the lynx, and several species of birds including the eagle, the owl, and the capercaillie.

Plitvice National Park covers an area of 295 sq km. In 1979, it was inscribed on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. The Plitvice Lakes are one of the natural beauties of Europe. The Plitvice National Park (Plitvička Jezera Nacionalni Park) consists of 16 lake basins communicating with each other through waterfalls created by deposits in the travertine layers.

The lake system is divided between the upper lakes and the lower lakes. The lakes Proscansko, Ciginovac, Okrugljak, Batinovac, Veliko Jezero (Big Lake), Malo Jezero (Small Lake), Vir, Galovac, Milino, Jezerce, Burgeti, Kozjak) belong to the upper lakes. While forming the lower lakes, the Milinovac, Gavanovac, Kaluderovac, Novakovica Brod lakes.

The lakes are located at an altitude that varies between 639 meters above sea level of Lake Proscansko and 503 meters of Lake Novakovica Brod. The national park area encompasses an area of 295 sq km, rich in forests and woods, the forests surrounding the park are home to bears, wolves and many species of birds.

HOW TO GET TO PLITVICE LAKES

Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in the interior of Croatia near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, just 40 km from the Bosnian city of Bihac. The park is easily reachable by car both from Rijeka, which is 150 km away, and from Zadar (150 km), from Zagreb (140 km), and from Sibenik (190 km).