Plitvice Lakes National Park – is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes enters the UNESCO World Heritage list, due to its outstanding and picturesque series of tufa lakes and caves, connected by waterfalls.
The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometres (73,350 acres). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County.
Each year here comes more than 1 million visitors.
Plitvice Lakes represent a majestic and dynamic face of nature in constant transformation.
According to legend, following a long drought, the Black Queen took mercy on the karst and let tremendous rain fall on the ground, with the remaining water creating the lakes.
The area is more beautiful than any description. More vivid than any photograph and more surprising than any video. It is only by visiting the Plitvice Lakes, that one can fully experience this beauty. The Lakes belong to the most impressive, most conserved and most special places in the world:
Plitvice Lakes
The national park is world famous for cascade like lakes. These lakes are a result of the confluence of several small rivers and subterranean karst rivers. The lakes are all interconnected and follow the water flow. They are split up by natural dams of travertine, deposited by the action of moss, algae and bacteria. The particularly sensitive travertine barriers are the result of an interplay between water, air and plants. The encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm (0.4 in) per year.
The 16 lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains. Descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m over a distance of some 8 kilometres, aligned in a south–north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about 0.77 square miles, the water exiting from the lowest lake forms the Korana River.
The lakes are well known for their distinctive colors, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.