16 Wonders
We Brought An Umbrella
How It All Came To Be
The first, highest, Plitvice Lake, at an altitude of 636 meters above sea level, is influenced by the Matica – a stream that flows in the nearby village of Ljeskovac at the confluence of the Bijela and Crna rivers. These two watercourses are the best known for the constant surface inflows of water into the Plitvice Lakes, but along with them there are also numerous occasional ones, the strength of which depends on the period of abundant rainy days. Bijela rijeka springs 4 km west of the village of Ljeskovac near Čudina klanac above 750 meters above sea level as a karst spring from several springs in which water seems to boil. At the places where the water erupts, you can see fine white sand – after which this watercourse got its name. The road from Slunj through Plitvice to Otočac and Gospić used to run along it. The valley through which this river flows is about a hundred meters wide, so in the longer rainy season it usually flows out of its bed. Twenty years ago, it was rebuilt in several places and there were shallow lakes, which were soon overgrown with dense sedges and reeds.
The Black River springs 2 km south of Ljeskovac from a wide karst spring at 670 meters above sea level, erupting strongly between the stone blocks with a mostly constant amount of water. Immediately below the spring, it is a few meters wide, but it is shallow all the way to the mouth of the Matica near Ljeskovac. The bottom of the stream is covered with black moss – hence the name of the river.
Upper Lakes
Prošćansko Lake
Prošćansko Lake, Prošće, is located at 636 meters above sea level. Its name comes from the wooden planks – prosća – or slats, with which the peasants supported the raised embankments to protect themselves from high water lakes on their meadows. It is the second largest lake among Plitvice Lakes, has an area of 68.2 ha, is 37 m deep, elongated in the north-south direction, 2000 m long, and its largest width 560 m. At the beginning of the lake in the west direction, the winding Liman Draga, 800 m long, separates. The shores of the lake rise slightly to the surrounding wooded peaks. The vastness and peace of the lake does not even hint that it is downstream numerous waterfalls continue, in some places with thunderous noise and noise. At the southern end of Prošća, there used to be a boat dock and a small beach. Today, visitors see this lake only from Labudovac, where they come panoramic vehicle. It is very rare for those to reach its beginning on foot and walk peacefully through Ljeskovac and Liman Draga on a now neglected path on the west side of the lake in order to return to Labudovac. Lake is characterized by a specific greenish-blue color, which turns gray in the afternoon.
Ciginovac Lake
Ciginovac, Cigino Lake or Ciganovac – on the northern side of the former old delta, or Devčićevac or today’s Labudovac – is located at 620 meters above sea level. The name comes from a gypsy who is in that lake drowned as he fished with his hands. The lake is V-shaped facing east-west. Water enters it through a surface artificially excavated ravine from Prošćansko Lake, but it also flows underground under the travertine barrier. The waterfall is 14 m high. The surface of the lake is 7.5 ha and the depth is 11 m. The west and north coasts are steep. On the northeastern side, the Stubica hill rises above the lake, on which Tomićevo looked with an exceptional view of the Prošćansko Lake, Ciginovac and Okrugljak. The color of the water is from dark blue to green.
Lake Okrugljak
Lake Okrugljak, Okrugljaj, Okrugić – east of Ciginovac, and northeast of the end of Prošćansko Lake below the Labudovačka barrier and the elevated Tomić view – is located at 613 meters above sea level. It won and name by its circular shape. The surface of the lake is 4.1 ha and the depth is 15m. On the south side, the coast is more gently laid and overgrown with forest, and on the north side it is below the steep branches under which a sightseeing trail is arranged. Southwest side. The lake is formed by the vertical of the Swan Barrier slightly higher than 20 m. On it is the Swan Waterfall, and to the west of it the once visited Cave Garden with Janeček’s Cave. The color of the water is greenish and dark blue, and in the shallower parts they see is “whitened” at the bottom of pure calcium carbonate, which covers it.
Lake Batinovac
Batinovac, Bakinovac or Batin – southeast of Lake Okrugljak – is located at 610 meters above sea level. The lake was named after the peasant Batin, who broke his fingers when he fell by the lake, so that his hand looked like a bat; or after to a grandmother, who drowned, picking herbs for spells by the water. It gets water through the canal from Prošće and the laid waterfall from Okrugljak. The surface of the lake is 1.5 ha, depth 5 m, and extends in the direction southwest – northeast. It is surrounded on the south by tall trees, and on the north it continues into an extension where other smaller lakes are located. The color of the lake is emerald and dark green. The waters of this lake are collapsing along the Batinovac barrier into Lake Galovac.
Kozjak Lake
Kozjak or Kozje Jezero – the largest lake in Plitvice – the last in a series of Upper Lakes, is located at 535 meters above sea level, between the Medvedjak elevation, about 900 m high, and 1000 m high Preka Kosa and the lower slopes of Mala Kapela. It got its name from that that one long winter, after returning from grazing, goats drowned in it, or because they were kept on a small island in the middle of a lake protected from wolves in the winter. The lake stretches in the southeast – northwest direction for 2.4 km with a maximum width of 670 m in the northern part. As in the southern part of Prošćansko Lake, to the west separates – similar to Limun dragi – Glibovita draga, 450 m long, which creeps under the hill of Gradina and which is influenced by Rječica, more than 6.5 km long. Near today’s boat crossing from one side of the lake to the other or north of Burget is Stephanie’s Island, after Queen Stephanie of the Habsburg dynasty who visited the Plitvice Lakes in 1888. The islet is elongated in the shape of a ship – 275m long and about 60m wide. Its height is 9.5 m. In the northern part of the lake from the beginning of Matijaševa dear to the east side of the lake, 4 m below today’s water level, there is a submerged barrier or waterfall. About 150 meters south, the depth of Kozjak is 26.7 m, and 250 m north of that barrier, the depth is 43.7 meters, but it is still lowering. The surface of the lakes is 82 ha, and the greatest depth is 46.4 m. The color of the lake changes from emerald to dark blue and green due to the swaying waves created by the circulation of air flowing over the lake. Both sides of the lake are well forested.
Lower Lakes
Milanovac Lake
Milanovac or Milanovo Jezero – the largest of the lower lakes – continues to the northeastern end of Kozjak through a canyon strait in the same direction for 400 m, and then turns north for the next 600 m – at 523 meters above sea level. It was named after the shepherd Milan who stole a monk, then was cursed and drowned in a lake. Today, the water from Kozjak to Milanovac falls from several waterfalls about 19 m high, but once it was a waterfall about 50 m wide. The surface of the lake is 3.2 ha and the depth is 18 m. the lake is surmounted by a 25 to 30 m high vertical rock, and the right is initially obliquely sloping, but further on it also becomes vertical. From the elevated lookouts, compared to the color of nearby Kozjak, the difference is very noticeable.
Gavanovac Lake
Gavanovo Jezero, Gavanovac or Osredak – an oval lake with the lowest canyon part of the Lower Lakes – is located at 514 meters above sea level. According to the legend, “Gavan’s treasure” was buried in the lake together with the owner, and the name Osredak is after the surrounding area to which the lake is closest. The area is 0.7 ha, and a depth of 10 m. The lake is known for the Milka Trnina Waterfalls, a famous opera singer who donated money from a Zagreb play to the Society for the Protection and Arrangement of Lakes. Below these waterfalls are the Great Cascades, a wide waterfall above the beginning of Lake Kaludjerovac. Right next to them is huge the opening of the Šupljara cave, under which the entrance to the Blue Cave is located.
Kaluđerovac Lake
Kaludjerovac or Kaludjerovo Lake – is the widest of the Lower Lakes at 505 meters above sea level. It was named after a monk, who lived in caves by the lake and treated people in the surrounding villages. Above the lake are to the left and right vertical rocks, on which small openings are observed lateral cavities. The lake is about 250 m long and 50 to 100 m wide. It has an area of 2.1 ha and a depth of slightly more than 2 m. The color of the water is azure, darker green in the middle, but blue predominates. When the surface of the water is calm, it reflects the surrounding rocks of the canyon with the greenery of the bushes above them.