Plitvice

Plitvice Lakes is Croatia's oldest and most famous national park, a staircase of sixteen turquoise lakes tumbling into one another over travertine barriers and threaded by wooden walkways and waterfalls. This is a nature base rather than a town, so most visitors settle in the villages just outside the park gates or in nearby Rastoke, the photogenic little mill hamlet where the Slunjcica meets the Korana in a cluster of waterfalls and wooden houses. The park itself is strictly protected: you stay on the boardwalks, follow lettered routes, and use the shuttle boats and panoramic buses that come with your ticket. The rhythm is simple: book a timed entry, start at opening before the crowds and heat, walk the Lower Lakes to the thundering Veliki Slap, then take a boat across Kozjak to the calmer Upper Lakes. Evenings are for hearty inland cooking, spit-roast lamb, fresh trout and local cheese, in the family konobas of the surrounding hills. Bring proper walking shoes, cash for smaller places, and layers, as the gorge stays cool and the waterfalls throw spray.