Plitvice Lakes is the most famous Croatian national park Plitvice. The area was declared national park in 1949, and in 1979 it was inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The park spreads over 29,842 hectares (22,308 ha of forests, 217 ha of waters, 6,957 ha of meadows with rural areas). The Plitvice Lakes are divided into Upper and Lower Lakes. The Upper Lakes are: Proscansko jezero, Ciginovac, Okrugljak, Batinovac, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Vir, Galovac, Milino jezero, Gradinsko jezero, Burgeti and the biggest one among Plitvice Lakes - Kozjak. These are the Lower Lakes: Milanovac, Gavanovac, Kaluderovac and Novakovica Brod. More than three quarters of the park, about 14,000 hectares, are covered with forests of beech, silver fir, Norway spruce and Scots pine, and the rest are meadows and pastures with scattered hamlets. Because of the height range from around 400 m to 1200 m, this area contains 11 forest units. There are also many rare plant species in the park, such as saxifrage, European yew, European peony. In the northwestern part of the park (the site called Corkova uvala), there is a unique rainforest, dominated by beech and fir, with very big specimens of trees. This rainforest was declared special reservation of forest vegetation in 1965. When it comes to the animal world, the most famous inhabitants are bears, wolves and otters. The brown bear is also the symbol of the park. Besides them, there are wild boars, skunks, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, etc. The park has registered 126 bird species, with around 70 nesting here permanently. There are also brown trouts in the lakes. The highest waterfall of the Plitvice Lakes is called Veliki slap, with water falling from 78 meters high. The Plitvice Lakes are visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, and the individual ticket prices depend on the season (July, August - about 24 euros; April, May, June, September, October-about 15 euros, other months 7.5 euros). Children, pupils and students have special discounts. Inside the park there are numerous restaurants and facilities, cycle lanes and walking paths, and in the winter time you can enjoy in the ski resort Mukinje. You can find an accommodation in a hotel, private apartments or camps. The park is open every day from 8 to 16 o'clock.

photo: NP Plitvička jezera, Solaris Beach Resort; video: NP Plitvička jezera, HTZ