Waterfalls and Wooden Bridge in Plitvice Lakes Croatia

An Aerial View of Plitvice Lakes Croatia

Fish in a Pond Next to a Walkway in Plitvice Lakes Croatia

Plitvice Lakes Travel Guide

May - SeptemberCroatiaEUR

Natural Beauty

Hiking, Biking & Kayaking

Adventure Seeking

Plitvice Lakes is a national park in Croatia, comprised of 16 interconnected lakes. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was formerly one of Yugoslavia’s main tourist spots. Plitvice’s natural beauty is breathtaking. The park’s cobalt-colored lakes are connected by a string of waterfalls and cascades. Trails and wooden bridges snake around the lake edges, which are lush with vegetation. Free boats and buses can ferry you between the lakes, but simply strolling along the hiking trails is a more than adequate way to explore this place and soak up its majesty. It’s easy to fill a day here just appreciating the surroundings, taking it slow and enjoying the mood.

Plitvice Lakes are within easy reach of Zagreb, just a few hours by bus or car. The lakes receive well over a million tourists each year, eager to immerse themselves in this otherworldly environment and escape the outside world for a few days. In winter, snowfall opens the possibility of skiing in the Mukinje resort, while summer brings hot weather and long, sunny days. It isn’t only humans who populate the lakes. This region is home to a fantastic variety of wildlife, including dormice, martens, wild boars, hundreds of butterfly species, and an incredible array of birds. The park’s most impressive resident is the brown bear, although these tend to avoid crowds and are rarely spotted. The animals live among a diversity of plant species and trees. If you’re a nature enthusiast, this is not to be missed.

Underneath the pristine beauty of the lakes is a sad history. During the Croatian War of Independence, the park was occupied by hostile forces and became the battleground for some deathly conflicts. Reclaimed several years later, at the end of the war, Plitvice’s now peaceful mood feels like a way of healing this dark past. Plitvice Lakes is a place to experience nature at its most beautiful and simple. It’s an oasis of calm, somewhere to relax, disconnect, and enjoy this little slice of paradise.

Must See Attractions in Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes

The lakes in Plitvice National Park are a lattice of dazzling turquoise lakes, spread throughout the park’s 114.61 square miles of untouched wilderness. The lakes’ vibrant colors change as fluidly as their cascading waterfalls. Plitvice has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site for its pristine waterways, and native wildlife. The park is a habitat for birds, fish, and iconic, although rarely seen, brown bears. Plitvice’s network of lakes, rivers, and caves was formed over thousands of years. Water channels molded the chalk and limestone landscape, the minerals from which continue to tint the water with unexpected, jewel-like colors. The entrance ticket to the park includes free travel within it by bus, boat, and train. However, most visitors want to spend their time exploring the 18km of wooden footbridges that carry them through waterfalls, and over the deep, ever-shifting hues of the water below.

The Upper Lakes

Plitvice’s upper lakes (Gornja Jezera) are comprised of a dozen large and small lakes, separated by natural limestone travertine barriers. Limestone builds up faster than you might think. Recently installed concrete stairs over the chief waterfall into Galovac lake have already been covered over by travertine deposits and reclaimed by the natural environment. The Upper Lakes offer an easy hike after you disembark from the free sightseeing train that winds through the lush forest in a circuit around the lakes. You can also take an electric boat through the largest lake in Plitvice, Kozjak, which is 1.86 miles long and has an island in the middle. For a more extended stay in this part of the park, you can stay in a hotel overlooking the lake before moving down to the lower lakes.

Blue Green Lakes in Plitvice Lakes Croatia

The Lower Lakes

If you only have a short amount of time to spend at Plitvice Lakes, go through entrance 1 to the “lower lakes” loop. This track only takes around three hours to hike and showcases some of Plitvice’s most striking points of natural beauty. Experience the towering Veliki Slap (the Great Waterfall), at 78m the tallest waterfall in Croatia, and walk over the chasm of intricate Sastavci falls. The lakes are surrounded by steep, rocky hills. Beneath them, you’ll find elaborate limestone caverns that protect magical and unusual insect life from the outside world. Although the lower lakes are at times crowded — and rightfully so for their spectacular, magnetic beauty — you can always find a calm spot for a picnic or to snap a few pictures.