Natural Site
Lower Lakes
Plitvice Lakes · Lika & Plitvice
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Natural Site
- COUNTRY
- Croatia
- REGION
- Plitvice Lakes · Lika & Plitvice
- DURATION
- 1 day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Lower Lakes (Donja jezera) are the four lowest lakes in the Plitvice chain, set inside a steep limestone canyon that gives them a more enclosed, theatrical character than the open Upper Lakes. The canyon begins at Veliki Slap, the Great Waterfall, and runs down through the lakes to the lowest point of the system, with the boardwalks following the canyon floor along the water and up its sides. Because the canyon is narrower and deeper here, the light, the spray and the colour of the water shift quickly as you walk, and the falls are closer and more vertical than in the upper section.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The Lower Lakes were formed by the same travertine-deposition process as the rest of the system, but the canyon they sit in was cut by the Korana River, which drains the whole lake chain and flows out at the lower end of the park. The canyon walls record the karst geology of the Lika region — layered limestone that the water has cut into a narrow, deep gorge over millennia.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The canyon walls rising above the lowest lakes — the most enclosed and dramatic section of the park.
The boardwalk along the canyon floor, passing close to a series of small falls and pools.
The outflow of the Korana River at the lower end, where the lake system drains into the gorge beyond the park.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The Lower Lakes are the section of Plitvice that feels most like a hidden gorge — narrow, vertical and intimate — and they hold the park’s biggest single waterfall. For a visitor they are the dramatic counterpoint to the wider, gentler Upper Lakes.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
THROUGH THE LENS
From the road
MAP & LOCATION
Lower Lakes
Lower Lakes, Plitvice Lakes, Lika & Plitvice, Croatia
44.8730, 15.6050
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Plitvice Lakes
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Lička Kuća — traditional Lika cuisine at the park entrance
Park restaurants and cafés at Entrance 1 and Entrance 2
Picnic spots along the upper trails
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Park hotels inside the reserve for early starts
Guesthouses in Rastoke, the watermill village nearby
Family hotels and apartments in the villages around the park
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
ROUTES
Routes through here
Plitvice Program A — Lower Lakes Loop
The shortest Plitvice program — a loop of the Lower Lakes canyon and the Great Waterfall from Entrance 1.
3.5 km · 2 h · easy
VIEW ROUTEPlitvice Program B — Lower Lakes & Kozjak
The Lower Lakes canyon plus the electric-boat crossing of Kozjak, with the panoramic train back — a half-day from Entrance 1.
3.5 km · 3 h · easy
VIEW ROUTEPlitvice Program C — The Full Circuit
The classic full-day Plitvice circuit — all sixteen lakes, the Upper and Lower Lakes, the Kozjak boat and the train return.
8 km · 5 h · moderate
VIEW ROUTEPlitvice Program H — Upper Lakes
A walk through the twelve forested Upper Lakes — the longer, quieter, more expansive half of Plitvice, from Entrance 2.
8 km · 4 h · moderate
VIEW ROUTEPART OF
Keep exploring
The atlas goes on — more attractions, destinations and stories from every corner of the world.