Everything you should know about Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is an exquisitely beautiful series of 16 lakes and myriad waterfalls, hemmed in by cliffs and surrounded by a vast area of forest, in Croatia’s Lika region. Together they form an ever-shifting watery landscape, turquoise and festooned with lush green mosses.

What makes these lakes particularly special is that they’re separated by tufa barriers. Tufa is a porous rock, created over thousands of years by the precipitation of calcium carbonate from the water and its gradual deposition on mosses and other plants. The barriers are between six and seven thousand years old and are still forming. Designated a national park in 1949 (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) and covering an area of 115sq miles, it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979, and in 1997 the Unesco-listed area was extended to match that of the national park.

When is the best time to visit

As Croatia’s most visited national park, Plitvice becomes very busy during the summer months. In July or August, start your visit early in the morning, ideally as soon as the park opens — this way you’ll get to enjoy the trails before they become too crowded and avoid the hottest part of the day. Better still, visit in spring or autumn — April, May and October have fewer visitors, ticket prices are significantly lower, and October in particular comes with gorgeous colours as the surrounding forests turn to copper and gold. The park sees heavy snowfall during the winter, but visits at this time of year are rewarded with magical views of waterfalls transformed into cascades of ice. Some areas of the park are closed in winter.

Where to find the best views of the park

Among the best-known spots in the park is the 78m-high Great Waterfall (Veliki Slap); aside from the base of the waterfall, there’s a good, clear viewpoint from the upper trail near Entrance 1. Veliki Prštavac is another iconic waterfall, pouring down across a broad, moss-covered rock face from Lake Galovac. Opened in 2024, the Tomićevo Pogledalo viewpoint offers breathtaking vistas across five of the surrounding lakes — a trail leads up to the viewing platform from Lake Okrugljak. However, the real showstoppers are arguably the views from the wooden boardwalks as they meander across rushing sheets of water and still, turquoise pools, or beside cascading waterfalls — don’t miss the chain of falls between Kaluđerovac and Novakovića Brod lakes.

Where to find the best hiking trails in the park

The best-known and most popular trails in the national park are those alongside and between the lakes. For a good, five-hour hike around the upper and lower lakes (trail H, 5.5 miles), start from Entrance 2 and take the panoramic train to the shore of Prošćansko Lake. Then, meander back through the gorgeous landscape of the upper lakes including Okrugljak, Vir and Galovac. Take the electric boat across Lake Kozjak, then follow the well-walked trail through the lower lakes canyon, passing alongside lakes Milanovac, Gavanovac and Kaluđerovac to reach Veliki Slap — the tallest waterfall in Croatia, which plunges down a cliff unleashing plumes of spray. Return to the east side of the canyon and take the panoramic train back to Entrance 2 — or better still, walk back along the shore of Lake Kozjak.

If you only have a short amount of time, trail A is for you (two miles, two hours). Start from Entrance 1 and descend to Veliki Slap, then walk alongside the lower lakes, ascend to the higher trail on the east side of the canyon and follow this back to your starting point.

Beyond the park boundaries, the hike to Gola Plješivica on the Bosnian border is a spectacular example of what a hike in the mountains of Croatia more usually looks like. Starting from the village of Mihaljevac near Korenica, the trail climbs across forested slopes to the cluster of radio towers on Mala Plješivica before following the border ridge to Gola Plješivica. Expect a mixture of dirt roads and forest trails, clearly marked but with some steeper sections — and great, sweeping views from the 1,646m rocky summit, where you’ll also find an abandoned radar station. Return by the same route. This is an 8.5-mile hike, with nearly 1,100m of ascent — allow at least seven hours, excluding stops. Good hiking footwear and waterproof clothing are a must and make sure you bring plenty of water. The trail is best hiked in June or September (July and August are very hot). Local guides can be hired in Korenica.

(Related: 7 lesser-known European national parks to explore this summer.)

The best spots to see wildlife

The mixed habitats of Plitvice Lakes National Park are home to a spectacular range of wildlife. Europe’s three large carnivores — brown bears, grey wolves and lynx — are all here, along with some 22 species of bat, 168 species of bird and over 80 butterfly species. Birds recorded in the park include Eurasian eagle owls, peregrine falcons, buzzards, corncrakes, white-throated dippers, majestic golden eagles and seven different species of woodpecker. Good areas for spotting birdlife include the shores of Lake Kozjak — lakeshores are also your best bet for dragonflies — while the high cliffs above the lakes offer a good chance of seeing peregrine falcons. The park’s most iconic inhabitant, the brown bear, is the one you’re least likely to see — bears prefer to stay well clear of humans, keeping to the more remote, heavily forested areas away from the busy lakes.

What to do in the park

When you’ve had your fill of hiking, there are rowing boats for hire on Lake Kozjak. Cycling is prohibited within the national park, but there are plenty of cycling adventures to be had in the surrounding area, including around the villages of Rakovica and Korenica. You can go kayaking on the River Mrežnica, slipping downstream over multiple waterfalls in the company of expert local guides — or try rafting on the River Korana. Plitvice Outdoor and Rastoke Active are two local tour operators offering rafting and kayaking. Horse riding is another possibility in the area around the national park.

The picturesque village of Rastoke is known for its cluster of old wooden watermills and braided waterfalls, at the confluence of the Korana and the Sljunčica rivers. The Barać Caves (Baraćeve špilje) are another highlight, near the village of Nova Kršlja — guided tours lead through some 500m of the upper part of the caves, surrounded by a spectacular array of stalactites and stalagmites. A large colony of greater and lesser horseshoe bats inhabit the caves, which are closed during the hibernation period (November to April). Also well worth visiting is the Nikola Tesla Memorial Centre, in the village of Smiljan, where the great inventor and electrical engineer was born in 1856.

Best things to do for families

At the nearby Adrenalin Park Plitvice there’s a 300m-long zipline which shoots across the canyon of the River Korana at up to 40mph, while Adrenalin Park Ogi in Rakovica has an exciting high rope course. Alternatively, head for the impressive ruins of Drežnik Fortress, and the nearby deer ranch. But the greatest attraction for kids is arguably the watery landscape of Plitvice Lakes itself.

Where to stay

The most convenient place to stay for visiting the national park is Hotel Jezero, located right beside Entrance 2. It’s a large hotel with plenty of rooms — but it could really do with an upgrade, given the prices and compared to the outstanding quality of many other hotels across Croatia. Rather nicer are several smaller, newer hotels and guesthouses in the surrounding area — Lakeside Hotel and Fenomen Plitvice are two boutique hotels in or near Plitvica Selo, a village just west of the lower lakes canyon.

What else you should know

The national park has two main entrances — Entrance 1 is close to Veliki Slap, while Entrance 2 is better for Lake Kozjak and Hotel Jezero. Both lie on the D429, around 85 miles from either Zagreb or Zadar. Plitvice Lakes are easily reached by bus — from Zagreb, the journey takes under two-and-a-half hours (book tickets online through Zagreb’s main bus station, Autobusni kolodvor Zagreb), or from Zadar it’s under two hours (Croatia Bus). There are bus stops at Entrance 1 and Entrance 2. Local bus routes, including from Plitvica Selo to the park entrance, are run by Likaline.

Tickets are available for one or two days, and cover entry to the national park, shuttle boats and panoramic train. From June to September, one-day tickets cost €40 (£35) for adults and €15 for children; in April, May and October these prices drop to €23/€6. Under-sevens go free.

How accessible is the park

While parts of some trails are accessible to wheelchair users and those with mobility issues, as are the electric boats and panoramic train, the nature of the terrain means that many trails are less suitable — paths can be uneven or rocky and the wooden boardwalks are not particularly wide, with steps in places. Notable exceptions include the viewpoint near Entrance 1, which is completely wheelchair accessible.

(Related: 19 of the best things to do in Croatia.)