Lika & Gorski Kotar

Lika and Gorski Kotar are Croatia's wild interior, the mountains and forests most visitors pass through on the way to the coast without stopping. Lika &…

Lika and Gorski Kotar are Croatia’s wild interior, the mountains and forests most visitors pass through on the way to the coast without stopping. They shouldn’t. This is where you find Plitvice Lakes, the country’s most famous national park, the Velebit mountain range, and deep, quiet woodland that turns brutally cold in winter.

Standout spots: Plitvice Lakes, Northern Velebit National Park, Risnjak National Park. See the Best of Lika & Gorski Kotar guide.

Best time: May to October for hiking and the waterfalls at full force after spring snowmelt. Winter is serious here, snow closes the high roads, but it is also when the emptiness is most beautiful.

How it compares: the least populated and least touristy region. No beaches of note, almost no crowds outside Plitvice, and the air genuinely different from the coast. Come for mountains, caves, waterfalls and silence.

116 locations in Lika & Gorski Kotar