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Plitvice Lakes National Park Facts

Plitvice Lakes National Park Facts
Plitvice Lakes National Park is a 73,350 acre park located in Croatia. It is one of the oldest of Southeast Europe's national parks and Croatia's largest. Plitvice Lake National Park is famous for its 16 lakes that cascade and are interconnected by the mountain runoff. Plitvice got its name from the natural phenomena that resulted in the lake formations. Plitvice Lakes National Parks was designated a national park in 1949 and in 1979 UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site. The stunning scenery in the park was created by the flow of water over limestone that over time created travertine barriers that resulted in waterfalls, lakes, and caves. More than 1.2 million people visit the beautiful park each year.
Interesting Plitvice Lakes National Park Facts:
Plitvice Lakes National Parks has 16 lakes that are arranged in a cascading form, separated by travertine dams and green moss and plants and bacteria.
The lakes in Plitvice are connected by walkways that allow visitors to explore the scenery without damaging the landscape or vegetation.
The water in the 16 lakes in Plitvice change colors, and may appear green, blue, aquamarine, turquoise, or even grey at times.
Because Plitvice Lakes National Park was established in the 1940s much of the landscape, wildlife, and vegetation has been untouched and remains in its natural form. It is often compared to Eden.
There are at least 75 endemic plant species in Plitvice Lakes National Park because of the protection the region enjoys. They cannot be found elsewhere on earth.
Winter in Plitvice Lakes National Park can be extremely cold with temperature dropping low enough that the water freezes over, including the waterfalls, for as long as 30 days in some years.
Visitors to Plitvice Lakes National Park are not permitted to swim in the lakes or waterfalls. This could damage the delicate ecosystem.
The lakes of Plitvice Lakes National Park include the lower lakes named Novakovića brod, Kaluđerovac, Gavanovac, Milanovac, and the upper lakes named Kozjak, Buk, Gradinsko jezero, Milinovo jezero, Galovac, Vir, Malo jezero, Veliko jezero, Batinovac, Okrugljak, Ciginovac, and Prošćansko jezero.
The tallest waterfalls in Plitvice are Galovački buk (at 25 meters) and Veliki slap (at 78 meters). Milanovacki Slapovi is 20 meters tall and Milanovac jezero is 8 meters tall.
Wildlife that can be found in Plitvice Lakes National Park includes brown bears, European polecats, alpine newts, European pond turtles, wolves, owls, lynxes, eagles, and wild cats.
The first armed conflict of the Croatian War of Independence took place in Plitvice Lakes National Park in 1991. It is referred to as Plitvice Bloody Easter, as ethnic cleansing of the Croatians in the region took place. IN 1995 the Croatians regained control of the area. Park infrastructure was destroyed or damaged by the Serbians.
All of the lakes in the park have a story or legend behind them, ranging from the Legend of the Black Queen, to stories about people drowning in the lakes, to names being derived from the way the water whirls, or even one being named after a monastery.


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