Plitvice Lakes National Park, National park in Lika-Senj and Karlovac counties, Croatia
Plitvice Lakes National Park is a 296.85 km² protected area in Lika-Senj and Karlovac counties, where sixteen lakes step down 133 m from Prošćansko jezero to Kozjak and the lower lakes. Travertine barriers divide the basins, and wooden boardwalks cross the water beside falls such as Veliki slap, Croatia's largest.
The site became the first national park in Croatia during 1949 while the region remained under Yugoslav governance. Three decades later, UNESCO recognized the geological formations by granting World Heritage status.
The name Plitvice was first recorded in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, the priest of Otočac, after the shallow basins (Croatian pličina or plitvak) that the water filled. In the 1960s, scenes for the Karl May films were shot here, bringing the lakes to international audiences.
The route network includes shorter options for half-day visits and longer variations that take a full day and cover all elevations of the lake system. Sturdy footwear is recommended since wooden platforms can become slippery when wet.
Moss and algae work together to build barriers that slowly convert calcium carbonate in the water into solid travertine, continuously reshaping the lakes. This process moves so slowly that some barriers grow only a few millimeters each year.
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