The excursion to the Plitvice Lakes National Park offers to our visitors the possibility to discover the oldest national park in Southeast Europe, and the biggest and the most visited national park in Croatia. The Plitvice Lakes region was proclaimed a national park in 1949, and because of the unique quality of the natural landscape and biodiversity it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register in 1979.
The protected area covers 296 square kilometers, although the most popular part of the park are the trails around the 16 lakes.
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is some 137 km from Zagreb (D1 national route), 257 km from Split. The Plitvice Lakes are 447 km from Dubrovnik. If you are on holiday on the Adriatic coast we suggest to come to Zagreb by plane, make a nice excursion to the Plitvice Lakes and a visit of Zagreb, and get back to Dubrovnik/Split/Zadar/Pula later in the evening.
The legend about the Plitvice Lakes reveals the harsh reality of the Dinaric karst of the region.
Once upon a time, when there was no rain for a very long time, a life-threatening drought was killing animals and destroying flora, people started to pray to the Black Queen. After a long period she has finally shown mercy sending black clouds full of rain. When rain started to fall, it seemed it will never end, filling the underground first and then creating beautiful lakes. We are reminded of this legend whenever the weather changes in this mountainous region.
The greater region around the Plitvice Lakes National Park – Lika and Gorski Kotar is the less populated region of Croatia but the most popular destinations among Croatian green travelers. Hikers and trekkers continue to the Velebit mountain and its two national parks: Paklenica National Park and The Northern Velebit National Park and one park of nature: Velebit Park of Nature. Please keep in mind that the word “park” here does not mean you can go alone for a walk. This is a mistake many foreing travelers do when they read the title and see how close it is to the Adriatic coast.