Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

One of Croatia's biggest and oldest national parks is Plitvice Lakes National Park. Because of its exceptional and charming network of tufa lakes, caverns, and interconnected waterfalls, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979.Established in 1949, the national park is located near the Bosnia and Herzegovina border in the mountainous karst region of central Croatia. The Croatian interior and the Adriatic coastline region are connected by the significant north-south route that runs through the national park area.
Over 296.85 square kilometers, or 73,350 acres, make up the protected region. Lika-Senj County owns about 90% of this region, with Karlovac County owning the remaining 10%.With over a million people annually, the national park is Croatia's most visited tourist destination.Depending on the season, admission fees range from 10 to 40 euros per adult per day in the summer (as of 2024).

The lakes of the national park are known across the world for their waterfall formations. From the surface, sixteen lakes are visible. Numerous tiny rivers and underground karst rivers come together to form these lakes. Each lake follows the flow of water and is connected to the others. Travertine, which is naturally deposited by moss, algae, and bacteria, acts as a dam between them. The interaction of water, air, and plants results in the especially delicate travertine barriers. In the middle of the Dinaric Alps, between the Lička Plješivica peak in the east and the Mala Kapela mountain in the west, the Plitvice Lakes have developed in a depression. The national park is situated near Slunj and Korenica on the D1 Zagreb–Split national highway, which runs across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ogulin, Rakovica, Otočac, Gospić, and Bihać are some of the largest Bosnian municipalities in the vicinity.