The story of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. It was founded in 1949, and in 1979 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for its breathtaking chain of lakes, caves and waterfalls. The lakes are arranged in cascades, and sixteen of them can be seen from the surface.

Their colours are famous and change all the time, from azure to green, grey or blue, depending on the minerals and organisms in the water and the angle of the sunlight. The name was first written down in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, a priest from Otočac, and it comes from the word for shallow, plitko, because nature formed shallow basins that filled with water. For centuries, water flowing over the limestone has built up travertine barriers that hold back the lakes, and these natural dams are still growing.

The two largest lakes, Prošćansko and Kozjak, are also the deepest, at 37 and 47 metres. From the first lake to the last, the water drops a total of 133 metres.