Plitvice Lakes National Park - Croatia

We humans have always attached colours with happiness. The rainbow is the perfect example of it. Plitvice Lakes located in Croatia is another fine example with its ever colour changing lakes. Plitvice lakes National Park  is a national park in Croatia in the Plitvice Lakes Municipality, in the mountaineous region of Lika. The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colours, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.

The lakes are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria. The encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm per year. The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m (2,087 to 1,650 ft) over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about two km², with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the Korana river.

The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colours, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.

Under the travertine waterfalls Cratoneuron moss sometimes grows, the moss gets encrusted with travertine and fresh moss grows further out, first a crag is formed but later a cave roof forms under the crag. If the water continues flowing the cave becomes progressively bigger. Limestone caves are present as well. Rare fauna such as the European Brown bear, Wolf, Eagle, Owl, lynx, wild cat and capercaillie can be found there, along with many more common species. At least 126 species of birds have been recorded there, of which 70 have been recorded as breeding there.

Croatia's first National park established in 1949 covers 296.85 km² of breathtaking natural splendor.  About eight km of pathways and wooden walking trails around lakes are accessible to visitors. Hiking is a common activity with organized programs for park visitors, other possible activities include: electric boat and train ride, cycling, skiing and rowing. The park ski area is the perfect outdoor and ideal for ski vacation destination

History of the Splitvice Lakes National Park
In March 1991 the place became the scene of the Plitvice Lakes incident - the first armed confrontation of the Croatian War of Independance that resulted in fatalities. The park was held by local Serb rebels backed by Slobodan Milosevic and the JNA as part of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina during the conflict and suffered some damage in the process, with hotels and other facilities being used as barracks. At auto-camp Grabovac there were civilian deaths (three children) from a Yugoslav Army shell in September 1991. During the period under the control of Serb forces loyal to Belgrade, Croats were ethnically cleansed from the region systemically. The region was retaken by the Croatian Army in August 1995 during Operation Storm, which ended the Croatian war.

Places to visit
 The nearby city of Split is only 125kms apart and boasts of a distinct architecture. Diocletian's palace is the single most important monument in the city and definitely not to be missed.

Directions, Accomodation and duration
The trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park will take a day. Add two more days to roam and explore the beautiful city of Split, Croatia.  All hotels are situated at Velika Poljana, central tourist zone of the Park, except campsite Korana which is located 6km prior to Entrance 1. Closest airport is Zagreb airport - about 140km away, while railway connections are in Karlovac (90km away) or again Zagreb (140km away). Approximately 30 buses pass to/from Zagreb/South Croatia daily.

*- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park
*- http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/index.php