Experience the best of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes lie in the hilly Lika region between Zagreb and the Adriatic coast, close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sixteen named lakes step down a limestone valley, each held back by natural barriers of travertine that build up as the water deposits minerals on moss and plants. The lakes change from green to blue to grey with the light, and the park is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is the oldest and largest in Croatia.

Wooden walkways and footpaths cross the water, and electric boats carry passengers over Kozjak, the largest lake. The tallest waterfall, Veliki Slap, drops about seventy-eight metres. Beech and fir forest covers the hills around, home to brown bears and wolves. Nearby Slunj has a village of old water mills built over small cascades, and the Barać Caves lie to the north.

Lika is known for roast lamb turned on a spit, smoked ham, fresh cheese and potatoes, served in family restaurants along the road. Autumn colours light up the beech trees, spring brings the strongest flow of water, and in a cold winter the cascades freeze into curtains of ice.