Plitvice Lakes National Park: Ultimate Guide to Croatia's Waterfalls

Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and largest national park in Croatia, protected since 1949 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It sits roughly halfway between Zagreb and Zadar, on the Lika side of the Mala Kapela mountain range. The park is built around sixteen terraced lakes that flow into each other across a difference of about 135 metres, connected by more than ninety named waterfalls and set in a deep forested valley. The water builds its own barriers out of tufa — a soft limestone rock that grows layer by layer as minerals settle out of the rushing water, and which is the entire reason the lakes exist.

The lakes and the layout

The park splits into two clearly marked sections. The Upper Lakes (Gornja Jezera) sit in a wide dolomite valley, surrounded by beech and fir forest, and are the gentler walk. The Lower Lakes (Donja Jezera) drop into a narrow limestone canyon, with boardwalks clamped to the cliffs above blue-green water. Lake Kozjak, the largest, sits between them, and an electric boat crosses it as part of the standard route.

The colour is the famous thing. The water shifts between turquoise, teal, deep blue and grey-green depending on the minerals, the depth, the angle of the sun and the season. Photographs are not exaggerated.

How the routes work

There are four main walking routes plus shorter variants, marked H, A, B, C, E and F (the letters refer to which transport combination you take). They start from either Entrance 1 (the lower side, closer to the big waterfalls) or Entrance 2 (the upper side, closer to the hotel zone). Most first-time visitors walk route H or C, which combine boardwalks at the lower lakes, the boat across Kozjak, and the upper-lake path.

In July and August the routes get crowded. The boardwalks are single-file and slow, and the photo spots at the big falls queue up. Allow four to six hours for the full loop; less if you only walk the lower lakes.

The history

Plitvice was a flashpoint of the 1991 to 1995 war. On 31 March 1991, an armed incident at the park headquarters between Croatian police and rebel Serb forces — the Plitvice Lakes incident — produced the first fatality of what became the Croatian War of Independence. The park was occupied and closed to visitors until 1995. Mines were a concern in the surrounding forest for years afterward, but the marked trails are now fully cleared.

Practical info

• Entry: tickets are sold by time slot, with prices tiered by season. High-season adult tickets are the most expensive in the country; off-season is half that or less. Buy online in summer to skip the queue.
• How to get there: about two hours from Zagreb and from Zadar by car, on the A1 motorway. Buses run several times a day from both cities. There is no train.
• Swimming: strictly forbidden anywhere in the park, to protect the lakes.
• Food and toilets: cafés, kiosks and toilets at both entrances and at the boat stops.
• Footwear: the boardwalks are slippery when wet. Wear shoes with real grip, not flip-flops.

Best time to visit

April, May, September and October are ideal. Water levels are at their highest in spring from snowmelt, the colour is most intense in September and October, and the crowds are a fraction of July and August. Winter visits are possible and beautifully quiet, with frost on the boardwalks, but the upper lakes may close and the boat does not run.

For photographers

The lower lakes in the canyon photograph best early, before 9 am, before the light gets harsh and before the crowds. A neutral-density filter smooths the waterfall water into the silky texture you have seen in every Plitvice photo. The boardwalks at the upper lakes give cleaner wide-angle views later in the day. The classic shot of Veliki Slap (the Big Waterfall, 78 metres, the tallest in the park) is from the lower-lake viewing platform. Bring a microfibre cloth — the spray is constant near the big drops.

Every spot here is mapped and verified by Photograph by John. Share this guide if it helped plan your trip.