On April 8, Croatia celebrates National Park Day «Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatian). Plitvička jezera). The name «Plitvice Lakes» was first mentioned in 1777 in the records of priest Dominik Vukasovich.
On April 8, 1949, the Plitvice Lakes received the status of a National Park when the Croatian Parliament passed a law on the protection of the Plitvice Lakes and declared the park a National Croatian Treasure.
In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was included in the UNESCO «World Heritage» register under number 98:
«Underground waters that flowed through limestone rocks for thousands of years have formed travertine barriers, resulting in the formation of a whole cascade of picturesque lakes, waterfalls and caves. This geological process continues to this day. The local forests provide shelter for bears, wolves and many rare birds».
The park is located in the upper reaches of the Korana River, between the Velika and Mala Kapela and Pleshevitsa mountain ranges, composed mainly of limestone.
There are 140 waterfalls, 20 caves, grottoes and springs in the park... (Photo: Mayovskyy Andrew, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
The area of the park is about 29,482 hectares. The pride of the park is a unique cascade of 16 large karst lakes and many small bodies of water, terra-shaped and connected by channels, with a height difference of 156 meters.
There are 140 waterfalls, 20 caves, grottoes and springs in the park.
The park, three-quarters of which is mountainous, is located between 400 and 1,200 meters above sea level, so it is dominated by mountain nature. The trees here include beech, spruce, pine, fir, and yew. Among the inhabitants of the fauna, bears, foxes, roe deer, and wild boar are known.
More than 1 million tourists visit the park every year.