National Park Plitvice Lakes or Nacionalni Park Plitvicka Jezera (in Croatian)
With a surface area of almost 300km2, Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest of Croatia's 8 national parks, it also contains the tallest waterfall in Croatia). Plitvice lakes was proclaimed a National Park in 1949, also making it the oldest national park in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage sites.
The Park represents a phenomenon of karst hydrography. The lakes are known for their cascades and the ongoing biodynamic process of tufa formation under specifice ecological and hydrological conditions. Tufa or travertine is a porous carbonate rock formed by the sedimentation of calcium carbonate from water. It build barriers, sills and other forms in karst rivers and streams. With this travertine development and formation numerous magnificent warterfalls are created, while the pristine lakes are with crystal clear water teeming with fish.
To get there, the best way is to rent a car from Zagreb (the capital of Croatia) or join a tour group from Zagreb. Public bus service is scarce and unreliable. So I rented a car from Zagreb, spent 2 days 1 night in Plitvice Lakes. Distance between Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes is 167km and is about 2 hour drive, then distance between Plitvice Lakes and the ancient seaside city Zadar is 132km and also is about 2 hour drive. Accommodation is plentiful in Plitvice Lakes district, majority of them are in villas with room for tourists (in Croatian, it advertised as "sobe" meaning "room" for rent).
The good thing about renting a car, is one can return the car in Dubrovnik (another Croatian gem) with no extra charge (this is what I did) and I got to drive along the spectacular coastal Highway 8 all the way from Zadar to Dubrovnik. Below is the picture of Dubrovnik.
